This time last year…
I witnessed magic.
This time last year, I was preparing to quit my job. Not only was I going to quit my job, but I was completely changing my career. After nearly a decade as an educator and public servant, I was going to take a 6 month sabbatical. After that, I would leap into entrepreneurship - no business degree, no seed money, nada. More than the fear, I felt a deep conviction that I could create a different, a more holistic, & a happier life.
I am here before you today having successfully launched my business, with an amazing first quarter of my business behind me. Although I am immensely proud of myself, I can also tired. So when hope feels far away, as it sometimes does, I am grounding in my why.
The Process
This time last year, I was immersed in my capstone project, now known as the Freedom Dreams project, for the Surge Institute. As a Surge Fellow, I was trained in Liberatory Design, a process and practice designed to:
Generate self-awareness to liberate designers from habits that perpetuate inequities.
Shift the relationship between the people who hold power to design and those impacted by designs.
Foster learning and agency for those involved in and influenced by design work.
Create conditions for collective liberation.
With help of Surge Oakland and the National Equity Project, Liberatory Design for Equity helped me birth the original idea for That Art Party, a tool in creating conditions for our collective liberation. Using the modes, I began to imagine a world where BIPOC adults are free, healing, and joyful.
Liberatory Design Modes
Notice, Reflect, See the System, Empathize, Define, Inquire, Imagine, Prototype, Try,
In the process, I noticed that my folx, other BIPOC adults, were being stripped of their humanity by all the systems (read: white supremacy culture) demanding perfection, production, and performance. This is what Tricia Hersey calls grind culture.
I reflected on my values: love, imagination, and intuition.
It looked like this:
I literally wrote:
“My passion is to heal my inner child and explore my curiosity outside of the roles assigned to me by my gender”
“I am breaking the mold and cycle of trauma”
“I want us to be free.”
“I want the freedom to explore on this journey”
I crafted an empathy interview that asked the following questions:
Describe the last time you played.
What is one art, craft, talent you have always wanted to learn or try?
If you could quit your job, what would you do with your life/ how would you spend your time?
Describe your most beloved community.
When do you feel most alive?
What do BIPOC need most right now? What does that look like? Can you describe it?
After interviewing hella (over 60) BIPOC adults, I came to the following conclusions:
we are expansive, we are inherently creative, and yet, we doubt our power to create a different reality.
These interviews made me laugh, cry, dance, and just marvel in the brilliance of my people. And that is what happens with BIPOC folx are allowed - encouraged even - to give in to the wants and desires of their inner child.
This is how That Art Party was born.
The Result
How could I use my natural gifts and talents to create a space where BIPOC adults can play, commune, and make art for the sake of creativity? I was clear that I wanted to cultivate a community space that was not about mastering technique, but rather allowing ourselves to PLAY. I believe that when we play, and when we play in safe space, we learn, grow and heal - even when that is not the intention.
Can you imagine a world where we are joyful, safe, and creative ?
Can you imagine a community of BIPOC adults who honor our intuition, play carefree, and experience the transformative benefits of art and play?
I started to dream, and I was hooked. I had already seen glimmers of hope through the powerful and playful connections with BIPOC adults. I knew I had to pursue this dream.
Over the following 6 months I would put it to the test… could art and play really set us free?
Stay tuned for next time…
