SORCE Collective

This day-long experiment ended up forming into different streams which included lively discussions and theoretical examinations. This event had a strong “no spectators” ethos, with all audience members also being presenters. There was a stream of praxis sharing and a stream of doing which involved engaged workshops that also involved questing and questioning what is considered valid research and how we may expand this to include other ways of knowing.

The following is a reflection written by iowyth hezel ulthiin on their experience of the day:

Notes from The SORCE Collective 2022, Parallaxes Unconference

I sit here eating an exceptionally spicy carrot, stretching on the floor of my apartment, in reflection over this day that we planned between the five of us and then called thirty-some-odd people into. The first thing that I can remember is the sense of gentle calm between us. I felt an immediate sense of ease. I wonder what a plant feels like when it begins rooting within its ideal conditions, what seeds feel like that fall on fertile soil. I think learning can begin before we open our mouths, in the way we stand and hold our heads.

The day itself was a long-form discussion, with interludes and prompts that would unfurl before me like the morning session, which had us making art, subverting tools to decorate surfaces beyond the page. It reminded me of being asked to colour within the lines and the freedom I felt in disregarding this advice. We subverted the tools, using our ornaments to mark, using the coffee we were previously drinking and bits of sliced beets that stained all of our fingers red. An epitome of process, many of the products were lovingly sent to rest afterward, not destined to live but for that glorious moment of discovery. It reminded me in a visceral way of the simplicity of sharing scissors, of how easy and gentle connection could be.

At lunch, I was in a conversation held between a few people talking about crossing the land by car and truck and then becoming cyclists and all the terrains we had biked on and the perils of the world. Co-creator Kathy Porter spoke of transporting a giant slab that they had cut themselves from a tree on their property and drove across the breadth of the country with it in tow, to make it into a table with their own hands. I could hear German being spoken in another conversation next to us. I remember learning that in Russian you couldn’t say I succeeded. You could say we succeeded, or success is mine and we talked about the ways language could determine the way you create sense in the world.

At the second session, we talked about the art of letting go and the facilitator sang us a rendition of “blowin’ in the wind” accompanied by the ukulele. They told us a story about being in Nova Scotia and someone coming up to them to ask for the black museum, which led them on a journey to locate this and other museums in a process of research with surprising twists and turns, all leading in a direction that revealed itself as a process. We were invited to share anything in response. Themes of home and struggles with the feeling of failure were mentioned and reflected by many. There were stories with one participant being able to describe the exact place that was their home, but also that they needed to be away from it and hoping it continued to be there for them to go back to. There were these motions between the participants, various desires pointing in different directions, some with clear visions of where they were going, some grieving visions that had been lost. Ultimately it felt like we were rediscovering a sense of grounding in the in-between, of finding ourselves pushed and pulled but finding a stable point amidst the tumult of the world, and that for us, this seemed to be the practice.

Our last session for me was a zine-making workshop where we discussed the potential contents of a Research-Creation manifesto. The resultant zine is so delightfully crisp at times but also so amorphous and sensual, reveling in line, shade, and texture. During the making process, the tactile sensation of running my hands over different kinds of paper, cutting intricate shapes with scissors, and respectfully negotiating a limited amount of supplies—scissors, pens, and glue sticks—between us all, felt deeply grounding. A conversation between peers, one that to me reminded me of a friend’s vision. When we asked him to describe his vision, he said he saw packages that opened onto other packages in an infinite loop. It seems like the amount of questions that we were generating was laying out an entire terrain in front of us. I started to understand the pursuit of questions in those moments. Knowing more, I wonder, could be a process of mapping the terrain, using each other as lighthouses. Questions made other questions.

In reflection on the day as a whole, in our discussions of the difficulties we face, and in attempting to put things into words, there was an awe and a desire for even less formed ideas, for things that are outcomes as much as they are the ephemera of something that’s still going on. There was a sense of vulnerability in sharing these tentative forays which, I think, spoke to the milieu.

Before it all, I led a prayer asking us to acknowledge the land directly, as a place, a place that was once a forest and where earthworms were currently burrowing under the soil. I asked for us to summon glimpses of the world as we wanted it to be. I wanted us to think about whether we could see glimpses of utopia around us, perhaps some of them in one other. I called for bids for connection to be answered.

As to what research-creation is, I think it’s people trying to find a still place inside of themselves and sharing that technology with others. We are looking at the tumult and turbulence, in our experiences of migration, disruption, and catastrophe. I think that research-creation is in a way like the search for the holy grail, the perfect method, and thus in a way, for enlightenment, contentment, healing, trying to figure out the right questions to ask.

So much happened that I wanted to write down what I could remember, but I’m sure the effects of the day will continue to unfold for me for some time. For now, I am going to dream and allow the learning to seep into my body and digest these feelings in that way.

Call for Participants
“approaches to research-creation: generating questions”
Date: November 10, 2022
Location: Toronto Metropolitan University (in-person event)
Time: 10 am – 6 pm 

Our collective will be hosting an in-person Unconference on November 10, 2022 and we are looking for engagement from the broader TMU and York communities. The unconference theme is “approaches of research-creation: generating questions” and the day will feature collective sessions, breakout rooms, and workshops to reflect the diverse interests of participants. 

This is a call out for participants: we are inviting creatives and scholars to submit proposals for the day’s events. You can submit a proposal to present on research-creation work in progress; a piece of work you want to exhibit; or general topics you’d like to discuss with peers about research-creation at one of the day’s facilitated conversations. In the spirit of the Unconference, the application process is quick and easy (see below for more information and a link to submit). 

SORCE is a student-run initiative for the furtherance of research-creation at both Toronto Metropolitan and York Universities. SORCE is open to all departments, offering a place to exchange ideas, swap stories, and to collectively dwell. We are interested in the ways creative practices can shape research processes, questions, and outcomes–an area of inquiry broadly referred to as research-creation.

We are hoping to begin an ongoing conversation as to SORCE’s shared vision of research-creation and are especially interested in cultivating horizontal knowledge involving a diversity of voices, experiences, and theoretical understandings, including and especially BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, mad/Deaf/disabled, neurodiverse and other equity-seeking viewpoints. 

This form of inquiry is proposed as a revolutionary mode of discovery, feeding into the ongoing decolonization of knowledge as well as offering an entryway into a discovery of a shared vision for more equitable and creative means of conducting research. 

For those interested in facilitating or attending, we invite submissions to consider: How does your creative practice make knowledge, shape your engagements with scholarship, or inform how you move through the world? 

An “unconference ” is a largely spontaneous, co-created event where participants and facilitators engage in a horizontal sharing of knowledge and ideas. Interested artists, creators, and/or researchers are invited to bring their stories, approaches, and techniques as a basis for engagement in participatory forums, investigations, curated conversations, and practical excursions. There will be time to workshop creative projects in their nascent stages or to receive feedback on projects in process; practicing artists are encouraged to submit works in progress. 

Resources:

Preparing to attend an Unconference
What is Research Creation?

Submission Guidelines:
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: October 14, 2022
We will be confirming participation by October 21st.

Submissions are open to any and all called to engage in a day of participatory inquiry on the topic of research-creation. Not everyone involved needs to have an active practice, but it would be helpful for those in attendance to have a working understanding of research-creation and have generated some questions, thoughts, ideas, or concerns that will provide the basis for active engagement in the Unconference format. Participants are asked to stay for the whole day whenever possible, participating in the exchanges and conversations outside of traditional academic structures.

For Facilitators:

Some examples of facilitated submissions might include:

• • A facilitated conversation or knowledge café centering on a particular topic

  • A practical workshop involving research-creation practices

  • A fishbowl-style panel discussion

  • Other experimental co-creative formats

Things to keep in mind:

• • we don’t require a thesis, so please feel free to submit even if you can only submit a sentence

  • our overall mission is less about presenting and more about engaging, so submitted ideas should ideally situate themselves as spaces of inquiry

  • submitters are encouraged to submit a topic that falls under the theme “methods of research-creation: generating better questions”

  • ideas should ideally be able to take place within the time slots provided (1 hr) and be able to meaningfully engage a small group of participants. Longer sessions will also be considered.

  • be sure to share your ideas as they will appear to participants, make your descriptions easy to understand and try to avoid exclusionary language

For Research-Creators:

• • You may submit your work for consideration as part of a group workshopping session and should give us a general idea of your practice, including its focus and approach(es).

For all other Co-creators: 

• • If you don’t feel called to lead a session or to receive feedback on your work, there is plenty of space available for participants to engage as co-creative members of the Unconference

  • Co-creators are invited to share their biographies and approaches to research as creation, and will be able to choose offerings based on their interest.