Oftentimes when Palestinian farmers put seeds in the ground, they mutter a quiet prayer, “may we eat and may we feed others.” This and many other linguistically profound sayings provide a lens into a cultural design based on the idea that our survival as individuals is connected to the well-being and survival of our community. In this time together, participants will be invited to let go of commitments to and preconceptions with “reality” in order to allow themselves to imagine alternative universes that are inspired by nature and her daring imagination. From the real to the fantastical, participants will engage in a hybrid and intimate activity of being physically present with other living beings, while channeling this co-presence into a writing activity that will bring them deeper clarities about who they have been, who they are, and whom they would like to be. This knowledge share will take participants through a short but profound trip into their own spirits, the spirits of other people, and the seeds that help weave stories to navigate a world that is in a state of hospice. For instance, how did imagination, nature, and science come together to make it possible for humans to develop bread from a wild grass, and how might this relationship of co-creation between humans and other beings inform our future? These questions call for urgent contemplation, because many of the things we love are dying or are already gone. We will have to learn how to grieve, and even how to die, together, in order to rebirth a new world in which we become “better designers”, together.
Participants will explore:
– Seeds and plants that are important to Palestinian life-ways
– Palestinian seed saving practices
– Seed Stories
– How our survival as individuals is connected to the well-being and survival of the collective
– Navigating a world that is in a state of hospice
– How to grieve, die and rebirth
Cost
$35 – low income
$50 – standard
$75 – pay-it-forward (if you have financial abundance, this is our pay-it-forward option to fund our full tuition scholarships)
For more information on sliding scale please check out this amazing work!
The zoom link will be sent upon registration. Recording will be available for 30 days.
Please apply here for a scholarship.
FREE for Palestinian community. You can either use the scholarship form or email us at connect@herbancura.com to receive code
Accessibility Information
Virtual Gathering
*ASR (automated) captioning provided
The knowledge share zoom link will be sent out immediately upon purchase, along with any other necessary information.
Wednesday May 1, 2024
2:00pm- 5:00pm Pacific Standard time /5:00pm – 7:00pm Eastern Standard Time
Class will be recorded and available for 30 days.
Facilitator
Vivien Sansour is an artist, researcher, and writer. She uses installations, images, sketches, film, soil, seeds, and plants to enliven old cultural tales in contemporary presentations and to advocate for seed conservation and the protection of agrobiodiversity as a cultural/political act. Vivien founded the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library in 2014, where she works with farmers in Palestine and around the world. Her work as an artist, scholar, and writer has been showcased internationally. Vivien is currently the Distinguished Artistic Fellow in Experimental Humanities at Bard College.