* the post collective
*
*AN IMAGINARY COLLECTIVE!!!
*COLLECTIVITY IN TIMES OF SOCIAL DISTANCING
*WRITING DRAWING CARING- VOICING

list list list

The confinnement challenge idea.

We prepare a list of themes, key words, poems, texts, experiences, pictures for every day. And people have to post daily something wich reflects on given theme.  (like intober challenge)


*VOICE DIARY

 ANAL FEARSSSS -HORDING TOILET PAPER

WE ARE ON THE VERGE OR ON A TOTALITARIAN REGIME OR A NEW WORLD


WHAT IS HAPPENING IN GHENT BOAT
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN PARK MAXIMILAAN


HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
HOW YOU WANT TO FEEL TONIGH?

i went at the taneur market, it was like beeing in Handmaids tale of atwood, people in pairs only if they are related, shopping with gloves and masks extra bio healthy food, watched over by security guards in case they do something not accepted...

IDEA OF A PROJECT:
    THE PROJECT WORKS AS A PHYSICAL RADIO, WE ALL BECOME CONDUCTORS OF THE OTHERS VOICE AND THOUGHTS AND WE EXPRESS THEM IN THE PUBLIC SHPERE PHYSICALLY [AT THE BALCONY] AND VIRTUALLY [ON LINE: FB AND WEBSITE]
    
  -  EVERYDAY WE KEEP NOTES ON A PAD LIKE THIS [EVERYBODY]
    THESE NOTES CAN BE THOUGHTS, DIALOGUES BETWEEN US, POETRY, NEWS, JOKES.. THEY CAN BE IN ANY LANGUAGE
   - ONCE A WEEK, WE MEET VIRTUALY TO EDIT THIS AND CREATE A SOUND POEM TO PERFORM
   - ONCE A WEEK AT 8.00 WE GET OUT ON THE BALCONY, WINDOW OR STREET AND PERFORM IT SIMULTANIOUSLY -KEEPING IN MIND THE OTHER DISTANCE MEMBERS OF THE COLLECTIVE- WE RECORD IT
   - THIS WILL LAST LIKE TOP 3 MINS
   - AFTER THAT WE UPLOAD OUR VIDEOS AND HAVE A SMALL CHAT ABOUT IT ONLINE  (30MINS)
   
   EVERY SATURDAY WE KEEP THE 13.00-15.00 HANG OUT IN ZOOM SO ANYBODY CAN JOIN US AND JUST CHECK IN -HOW ARE YOU TODAY, HOW DO YOU FEEL??
   


OTHER NOTES:
    RADIO ALICE??? AUTONOMIA ITALY

QO2 RADIOPHONE 1ST OF MAY [MARCUS]

DANIELLE CAN HELP OF WE WANT TO PUBLISH STYFF
GLOBE AROMA TOO

day2:
    23.03.2020
    
    δεν εχω λογο να ξυπνησω το πρωι
    εχω αρχισει να φοβαμαι
Αλληλεγγύη Αλληλεγγύη Αλληλεγγύη
καθαρο μυαλο

A POEM IS NOT A PROJECT: This idea arose from our last conversation on skype. And in a sense reflects my own positive approach to collaboration and making art with groups in the past and hopefully with the Post Collective also. It’s important to embrace and encourage a kind of amateurism and open-ended mindset without having to worry about fulfilling the bigger aspirations and frameworks of a so-called project. This means being open to playing with things, to experiment in quite open, risky and spontaneous ways in the immediate moment together and not as if anything/everything might be used in some way or event in the future as part of the project. It seems that the art world is fixated with the productivity and outcomes of projects; and this makes it a more elitist and segregated world set apart from the rich potential and resources of our everyday lives. Certainly for me these are the reasons I wish to work in a more collaborative and playful way that is less determined and project based.

Have a few ideas for some sound poems that we could try out via zoom. One involves each of us saying our names in different ways. With the idea being that we start to hear things that are not often heard when names are pronounced normally. For instance if you say your name very slowly so every sound of every letter is clearly pronounced and connected to the letters before and after it. It's also important to say the name with the accent and qualities in terms of ones mother tongue. One way to hear this slowed down pronouncing is that it presents a landscape of sounds just in a name. I also would like for us to try to speak our name as quickly as possible without distorting it or loosing anything in the process.
There are other ways we could use this idea of speaking names but lets start with these two ways and see how it goes. It would be helpful that we all practice these two ideas before we get to do it together.

Another idea for a sound poem is that each of us from each of our mother tongues makes a collection of one letter, two letter and three letter words. In english there is only 1 one letter word 'a'. In dutch there are none. There are a few two letter words and quite a lot of three letter words in english. Please make a list of these three kinds of words from your mother language. And with these lists I will ask each of us to read the words out according to different patterns and orderings to see what might happen soundwise. 

Of course there is not certainity that these ideas might work out or something interesting might occur but it's always worth trying and keeping our ears and minds open to possibilities.


ONE LETTER WORDS IN ENGLISH: A
TWO LETTER WORDS IN ENGLISH: AN/AT/UP/ON/ ME/TO/IF/HE/OF/IN/BE/OF/
THREE LETTER WORDS IN ENGLISH: HER/MAT/HIT/POP/ARE/ATE/EAT/GOT/SUM/KIT/OUR/HIS/

greek:
α
ε
ιιιιιιιιιιιι
η
μμμμμ
ο
σσσσ
ψψψψψψ
ω

russian
и 
в 
к
у
а
о
с
я

آااااااااا aaaass ييييييييي yyyyyyy ووووووو oooooo لااااااا.  Laaaaaa للللللللليش lelelelish

2 letter words
μη
μα
μπα
εα
το τη τα 
πω
πα
αχ
ναι
ντε
αν
σε
και


 POEtry is not A PROJECT!


A WEAPON LOADED WITH THE FUTURE.


CLAPPING IN ISOLATION but together

 Tomorrow we meet at 11 am to practice again and I thought to send out a few thoughts ahead of this time.
 After listening to the recording of our last time practicing I have had a few ideas and will try to outline them here.
 Robin kindly edited the recording down to  only those bits where we are making sounds according to the protocols.
 Within the 17minutes of the recording there are some outstanding moments that I were struck by.  You may
 ask me why/and how I can respond in this way and how can one make a decision about such strange and seemingly meaningless
 vocal noises. This is an important question and one I hope we all get to ask and explore in our work together and individually.
 Firstly I must say it's a matter of listening to the voice in a way that one usually does not do. To hear the human voice as in
 terms of its subtle and various audible qualities and especially for these aspects and their potential beyond normal forms of communication. 
 I think in terms of what we are doing in these practices one of the most important things is that we begin to listen to language and
speech from outside the realms of meaning and normal functions.

CAN WE CHANT AND REPEAT BITS OF WHAT WE HAVE DONE ALREADY, OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN GRADUALLY GROWING SEQUENCES IN RELATION TO EACH OTHER SO AS TO SEE IF WE CAN HEAR THINGS DIFFERENTLY AND THEN START TO FIND NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR US TO TRY OUT?

FOR THE RECORDING WE COULD SELECT BITS FROM WHAT EACH OF US DID SO AS TO REPEAT THESE BITS IN DIFFERENT WAYS TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO AND HEAR FROM IT

After listening to the first ten minutes of the recording two approaches became evident: one is in terms of using a TRILL on the voice which means to produce a warbling sound, rapid vibration sound within the words. Secod is to STAGGER. That is to introduce a subtle break in timing between words. But only very slightly and as if the words are on the edge of collapse and falling.
By these two effects I expect each of us to find our own way of implementing these effects. Just an idea. 
I am taking notes of different qualities I hear in the recording as there are really some fine things there that can be explored further.


 
Remember our last day together: the day we did the different exercises devised by Robin. Well I keep thinking
about it in terms of what's happening now. That we are trying to figure out ways of continuing under these
new circumstances of social distancing and isolation. Especially it was the exercise that called for each of us to leave and stay
apart for ten minutes and record in someway our sense of seperation and isolation. This simple exercise really has a lot to
offer in terms of our present situation. For being apart was both illuminating and irritating at the
same time. I really sensed something profound in that moment in terms of what the collective was trying to do and why we were doing what we
were doing. In those minutes of seperation I felt very commited but also accutely self aware. Especially in the context
of the building itself and it's history as a monastery before becoming an art space. Anyway there is something here in this experience that we might
further discuss in terms of how we operate now in this prolonged and profound state of seperation and isolation; and espeacially as it relates to our collective goals.

 Some observations after our Easter Monday practice.
 
 The sound quality of zoom seemed at first better than skype until we started doing volume changes with our voices and it then started to edite things out. Did you notice that and if so this is not good for what we want to do?
 In Zoom there is indeed a sound regulator. But you can switch it off. I propose I initiate the call and will swith off in the settings.
 
 I really believe we need to do very simple tasks/excercies with our voices and slowly build up a way of playing with such basic sounds such as humming, growling, hissing etc. Can you think of any such sounds that derive from your mother tongues of Flemish, Greek and Arabic and dialects therein? Can you think of some tongue twisters and other children games using languageinhighly inventive ways. Please come to the next practice with some such sounds that we can play with.
 
I did notice that I find myself getting quite animated and slightly anxious by the disembodied and highly mediated mode of communicating we need to use during these online practices. It really is difficult to read each others responses and to figure out how we are going in such a limited mode of being together, accoustically, visually, physically etc. Therefore I think its very important we all provide as much feedback and observational information we can as soon as it occurs so we all can understand better how it is preceding for everyone. And also so that we do not move forward too quickly and loose good things that might of happened. In a sense it will be possible to listen to what we are doing as if its a recording and respond afterwards from that experience.
Also I think that when we practice it would be better that we do not speak before hand too much about other matters as it takes the wind out of our sails in terms of concentration, inspiration etc.

I have devised a few simple scores that can be described verbally online so that we can try they out on friday. They take the form of simple thought models on which each of us can hopefully focus and explore with each other without having to read or view a score as such. Each score draws from the stuff we have done already with one and two letter words. Can you also do this by listening to the recordings or from memory of what we have done come up with a simple formula, thought model or score that you can desribe to us so we can try it out. Eventhough much of the previous stuff we have done may sound boring and repititious I think it serves as the basis for developing other more layered and interesting material. We need the boring stuff as the basis from which to develop otherwise everything becomes too theoretical and ungrounded in experience.
Most of all I am impressed with the fact we are doing this kind of collective imagining with highly abstract vocal noise on social media and for this fact alone it has lots of very fascinating and inspiring implications. For one we are developing a method of speaking about and imagining such kind of vocal work while doing it in such a disembodied and seperated state.

Think about the sounds we make from the one, two and three letter words as if they are arranged in space and that the way you pronounce them, sound them, vocalise them reflects this spatialisation and movement in space. 
And as Max Bense the theorist of concrete poetry put it in terms of such poetry which includes sound poetry:  THE WORD IS NOT USED PRIMARILY AS A BEARER OF MEANING, BUT BEYOND THAT AS ELEMENTAL CREATIVE MATTER.
Another few words of encouragment from Jose Marti (1853-1986) Cuban revolutionary poet wrote that in poetry process rather than product is important and it's not waht that's dicovered but " THE EFFECT OF EACH TO DISCOVER IT"
He also explained: EVERYTHING HAS ALREADY BEEN SAID; BUT ALL AUTHENTIC THINGS ARE NEW.

It's good that Orckid and Ajle are present in terms of our practices for they surely are a great source of vocal sounds and animated expression that we can learn from. It was the highly vituosic and wildly innovative avant garde vocalist Demetrio Stratos who said he learnt everything as far as his unquie vocal capacities by closely studying the way his young child used her voice everyday. Stratos' self-proclaimed mission was to free vocal expression from what he considered to be the slavery of language and classical lyrical melody. He considered the exploration of vocal potential as a tool of psychological and political liberation. His studies and recognition of the voice as musical instrument carried this ethos to the edge of human vocal ability. His work is important reflection of the progression of experimental and innovative vocal techniques during the second part of last century.

In terms of questioning the value and direction of our efforts in terms of these voice and language experiments it’s useful to consider a quote from the American poet Lyn Hejinian from her book ‘The Language of Inquiry’:  In experimental poetry aesthetic discovery is congruent with social discovery. New ways of thinking (new relationships amongst the components of thought) make new ways of being possible.



NOTES Towards A MANUAL/CODE/Manifesto OF CARE/ OF CONDUCT /OF CONTRA-DICTION.

I wish to argue that in developing any collective manual of action, of care, of conduct, of contradiction.. we must  include propositions and ways that the collective responds to how the world has changed in terms of the covid 19 crises. For there is an urgent need now more than ever for collective action, and for collective responses in terms of devising social, political and artistic changes for the world in light of what's happening. To not address these issues in a manual, since we have a collective already and we are thinking about different ways of being in the world, would I think be a much missed chance. I refer you to a recent articale by David Harvey where he concludes: " isn't this an interesting moment to really think about the dynamism and the possibilities for the construction of an alternative, socialist society? But in order to get onto such an emancipatory path, we first have to emancipate ourselves to see that a new imaginary is possible alongside a new reality." From: 'We need a Collective Response to the Collective Dilemma of Coronavius'.https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/04/david-harvey-coronavirus-pandemic-capital-economy  

In the middle of our process of establishing our collective the world has dramatically changed by the introduction of the covid virus. Since we have already started on the pathway of collective imagining and of collective reality building we should, I think, adjust our attention to include responding to the changes that the whole world is undergoing. And especially in light of not allowing things to go back to so-called normal, but instead we could also address issues of inequality, social justice by introducing discussion of how a more fair and sane social order is built from this crisis. The virus is a result of globalisation and a certain type of internationalism that in response to the virus highlights the priority of the wealthly to safe quaratine conditions and denies equality of access to worlds resourses to all people globally.

There has been a marked increase of collective irrationality in the world due to the crisis in different areas from irrational buying of certain items causing unnecessary shortages, to the spreading of rumours and false accusations/information. As a collective we can look to ways of joining in a process of mutual support,  collective disclosure and open care for ourselves and the community and beyond.

Points of consideration for the manual:
    
As a collective our guidelines/codes of care should clearly set out to define the way we work collectively and in a collaborative and open manner. Meaning eventhough we might each have our own projects we also must be open to thinking about and to imagining the way each of our projects coexist, connect and have a direct or indirect relationship with the other projects carried out by collective members.
  
We should discuss ways that the work load in areas of adminstration, book keeping, communication etc  are evenly/equally divided between the members. Or otherwise if one or more members carry out more time and work in these areas then they are paid and recognised accordingly. We need to talk about this in detail and work out how to do it equally and fairly. But it's crucial all members should be aware of the work being carried out on their behalf and decide if they wish to particpate or not in this work.
MAINTANANCE WORK AS PART OF THE ARTISTIC WORK AND OVER ALL COLLABORATIVE SITUATION

Addressing these issues all depends on establishing an active and attentive mode of communication and care within the collective between its members and collaborators. 

That way we operate as a collective must be understood and discussed for the advantages and opputunities it offers each member and the collective overall. We should list what each member thinks are the reasons and advantages of being in such a collective, both in terms of the collective, each individual and even in terms of society generally.

Its important that listening to others is considered as an important activity as speaking and conveying ones thoughts and opinions. Also its important to encourage those whose expertise and experience may not be so known so they are able to come forward and bring these aspects into the active life and activities of the collective.

To encourage the imput of those whose viewpoints and perspectives may be under represented in the collective activities and discussions.

To always apply welcoming and accepting modes of discourse and to graciously accept any critique or critical feedback that is constructively and openly provided.

Give credit where credit is due and seek ways of making resourses, faciltities and opputunities equally available to each collective member.

Any conflicts or compliants should be addressed to the whole collective and resolved together or if this is not possible with an outside collectively chosen mediator.

The collective does not tolerate harassment or discriminatory behaviour by the members towards each other or to anyone else outside the collective.

The obvious and fundamental principle to any collective is: We are all in this together! What does this mean more broadly and especially in light of the virus crisis globally?

Members should be commited to a practice of accountability amoung the collective and with its collaborators. This should be based on an open and equal basis to communication and exchange of ideas and perspectives.

We urgently need to discuss and decide upon how the collective welcomes new members. This is absolutely crucial in terms of our ongoing development and existence into the future.

WHAT ABOUT CONTRADICATION?
The role of contridication is something I see as an important but not recognised part of how any collective operates or should operate. Meaning there should be instants of productive contradication, and, in fact, of misunderstanding within collective processes of collaboration and discourse. These aspects should be dealt with and approached as valuable elements required to generate unexpected and new potential for social activity and art making; As an important way that collaborative and collective activities provide/provoke new models of thought and art making. Also the collective must be prepared and open to contradicting and opposing what is deemed normal and acceptable within society. The collective offers an alternative mode of self emancipation and participation within society and the world generally but also it must be open to contradicting, questioning and providing an alternative to what is deemed normal or acceptable by the powers that be in society.


A good quote in regards how the collective might consider itself and its role in terms of the residency and response to the present crisis arrives from the American poet and feminist Adrienne Rich: " The sleep walkers are coming awake, and for the first time this awaking has a collective reality: it is no longer such a lonely thing to open one's eyes."


*
*NOTES FOR a WORKSHOP with the Curatorial Class KASK 15th June


It would be good it we used this workshop for our own purposes in terms of addressing the Code of Care and other issues we need to discuss and explore. Meaning that we could pose a number of questions to each other and that we answer/ discuss within the workshop with all the participants. Perhaps we could formulate three questions that each of the collective partipants answers in the workshop. We could prepare our individual answers beforehand. This would provide a way of getting to know each other, of hearing our positions in relation to the collective as well as providing background material for the workshop itself.

Examples of questions to be answered briefly in no more than 2 minutes per answer:
1. What is your idea of a collective generally and what do you think being a participant of the Post Collective offers you specificially?
2. What should the Post Collective aim towards achieving during its residency at the Kunsthal?
3. How do you imagine the collective will move into the future beyond the residency at the Kunsthal?


Another idea we discussed in relation to the workshop was to describ the different projects in the residency, and, then ask the curatorial students to go away and come up with ideas and stratagies for presenting/exhibiting/promoting these projects to the public.
If we think this is still a good idea how should we go about doing it, and proposing it to them?



Other than the collective providing a platform for collaborative art and design making for its members are there more social and political based areas or issues that we should include in our ongoing agenda and discussions? For example, for me, an important issue is that of international borders and the part they play in maintaining and enforcing a wide range of global injustuces and inequalities. As all the members of the collective are immigrants and newcomers to Belgium is it not also possible we draw on our special perspectives to address and promote questions about the injustices and inequalities facing refugees and immigrants worldwide. Of course there are many other issues and areas we could also consider and make part of our ongoing activities and discussion. What are they, can we discuss this in the workshop?


I propose we explain to the students what we have been doing online in terms of performance and voice work, and, we also do a simple voice experiment with all the participants of the workshop as an example. Really something like this will open things up in a really vital and dynamic way. We could do the humming exercise, and practice it on the weekend to see if its a possibility.


STRUCTURE

2 min
who we are? basic text  We send this to them and we very briefly introduce OR ASK ANNA TO DO So..
The Post Collective is an autonomous platform of co-creation, co-learning and cultural activism created by and for refugees, asylum seekers, sans papiers and accomplices. It seeks to introduce a range of artistic, cultural and employment opportunities, as well as provide an overall collaborative environment for its members regardless of their legal status. The collective arose from the ‘Open Design Course for Refugees and Asylum Seekers’ 2018 at KASK school of arts, Ghent (BE) when some alumni and teachers decided to continue working together. Generative modes of dialogue and storytelling form the basis to our speculative and experiential approaches to art+design. We aim to develop creative alternatives beyond the dominant systems of control and exclusion we are facing. This means facilitating the position where we do not struggle to be assimilated but instead rethink and re-conceptualize critically a future together as community.

2 mins
our collaboration is an ongoing exercise of dialogue/we are continuisly informing eachother, through events and encounters and we regard this as a part of our artistic practices
here today we want to also exercise on that-->  introduction to double listening --> Elli


5 mins ALL
Marcus introduces the polyphonic storytelling : CONTRADICTIONS
How we formed [1 min each] 
odc 2016 Sawsan Elli
odc 2018 Marcus
mechelen Elli + Marcus
odc 2019 ALimu [the new comers percpective 2nd generation pocos]

3 questions percpectives on why we need/what it means "the post collective" 3*4=12 mins ALL
reference: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tUIxBd2f09OfK8mRulrZIR9xsaqXuhknC6ZbldZeBnE/edit
1. What is your idea of a collective generally and what do you think being a member of the Post Collective offers you specificially?


what we were doing before covid kunsthal collaborative speculations program 5 mins Sawsan
Antwerpen, programme in Kunsthal.
what covid brought in the collective experience 1 min All = 4 mins
-- solidarity / care / extreme precarity 3 mins


-- code of care + structure 3 mins Elli + Sawsan
-- Future plans - Marcus 3 mins
 future plans--> BUDA + Robin + kunsthal 0.2 + CO-learning -importance of funding!!

-- brief introduction to sound performance  5 mins Marcus
add to this Elli Alimu Sawsan [our collective coping]
EXERCISE humming or wordgames  10 mins                        ----> NAME SCORE---> SAY YOUR NAME THE WAY

---break----


invitation again 
questions
double listening, their thoughts and their experience the last months as curators and beings



THE SUMMER SALON EXHIBITION CONTRIBUTION




STRIVE TO THRIVE
By drawing on our multiplicity of perspectives, skills and experiences in collective imagining and thinking we offer a range of services and possibilities for hire.
Poster adverstising that the Post Collective offers the following services for hire:

Spectulative Design
Graphic design
Pattern making
Photographic work
Print making
Translations
Experimental filmmaking
Making and performing Songs and Sound poetry: We can collaborativelly produce and perform original songs and sound poems to order drawing from our diverse and innovative uses of different languages, dialects and vocal histories.

A collective catch cry:
WE-ARE-(ALL)-IN-THIS-TOGETHER-BUT-WE-ARE-NOT-ONE-AND-THE-SAME