Experimenting at the Edges

Democracy & Civic Stewardship

The Easthampton Futures Project is an experiment aimed at increasing civic affection in Easthampton, Massachusetts. The project is the first city-wide prototype of a new model we have been developing that links community development, futures planning, civic stewardship, intergenerational learning, and economic mobility.

We are in the early stages of documenting this work, and have received some seed funding from NAS and The Value Web to codify the model. In 2020 we will continue to explore this model in Easthampton, and start to run parallel experiments in other communities across the US. Our goal is not to create a “thing” that can be replicated and scaled, but instead to experiment with ways that can ignite civic affection, and reconnect citizens with an awareness of their own capacity to affect development pathways, and actually work to create the future we want in the places we live.

Radical Reclaiming of Space

How do the spaces we inhabit inform our individual and collective identity? How do immersive, aesthetic experiences change the way we relate to each other? What is the effect of these spaces on choice and decision-making?

Since July 2018 we have been experimenting with blanket forts–a social technology that helps individuals and communities create space for community. Read a Medium article about this practice. More to follow.

Pathways for Alternative Education

The field of graphic facilitation is rapidly expanding, but learning opportunities are often prohibitively expenses for those with limited financial mobility. In January of 2019 we launched a free learning cohort in Easthampton, Massachusetts. We are working with a group of 10 individuals, who are receiving training in graphic facilitation, process design, and the manipulation of the built environment to support collaboration and relationship-building. Members of the cohort are also working with local nonprofits for whom typical rates are prohibitive. In 2019, the Easthampton Futures Project became one of the central learning spaces for the cohort–many of whom supported the events with facilitation and visuals.

Civics Academy

In October 2018 we partnered with Mayor Nicole LaChapelle of Easthampton, Massachusetts on the inaugural Easthampton Civics Academy. The initiative was designed to help residents navigate the procedures of municipal government, and further their voices in the community.

Participants included members from city boards and committees, elected officials, municipal officials, as well as experts in the topics covered, which included:

Open meeting laws: What are they and why do we have them?
Parliamentary Rules of Procedure: How can I participate in my city’s meetings?
Board/Committee Service: What do boards/committees do and how can I join?

Art & Assembly

Chase Public is a community space in Cincinnati, Ohio that works to build empathy through creative practice. They provide space for artists to develop and express craft and artistry, and space for audiences to learn from artistic expression.

They conduct and facilitate collaborative writing and art-making activities, in which artists and writers create with each other, and with the public.

In addition, they coordinate educational classes and programs to encourage community discourse around literary theory and practice, history and representation, creative methodologies, and social awareness.

Intergenerational Curiosity

Fort Future is an experiment in intergenerational curiosity in Easthampton, Massachusetts. We’re experimenting with workshops and experiences that develop and hone 21st century skills. We are creating space for free play, open creativity and collective inquiry, forts, spaceships and world building, costumes, masks and identity construction.

Experiments with Sound

We spend a lot of time on Zoom calls, collaborating and connecting with people all around the world (even locally). One of our latest inquiries has been the use of sound during Zoom calls to help quickly build group alignment and coherence. We have recently been experimenting with Gamma waves, as well as allowing individuals on a video call to tune in their own frequency using this online tone generator. It’s an interesting way to communicate with one another, and can reveal a lot about how a person is showing up to a conversation. Future experiments will involve in-person sound experiments (before starting a session) using binaural beats to sync brain wave frequencies. We’re wondering if this might have any impact on the ability of a group to find homeostasis in dialogue.

Reference Library

We love books, and spend a considerable time reading and learning about a wide variety of things. We know that a library can reveal a lot about a persons values and curiosities, so we’re linking here to some of the books that inform how we think and orient to the world and our work. Like Umberto Eco, we have not read all these books, but their presence helps remind us of the wealth of knowledge in the world, and encourages us to approach our work with an unending curiosity and humility.