Reflection after workshop no. 4

Workshop ON THE MILKY WAY #4

theme: library and imprints

This day we were 4 people on site from Kollaborativet. Me and Herman who have been there before and Anna-Majje and Jessica who were new to our workshops. There were not so many who had pre-registered this time so we were very happy when many more came than we had expected!

There was extra much that was new for this workshop. Our newly developed library format with many elements that had not yet met any participants stood in the experience room. At the making table we worked with imprints in clay, a material that we have not worked with for many years. There were also many new families who came and took part in this workshop. Some who also knew each other from before and got a new neutral place to meet. The fika table had also been developed with some softer fika such as bananas and muffins which we experienced as a hit, apples, corn cakes and biscuits that are dry and hard do not suit everyone.

Clay is such a wonderful material to work with. It can be shaped and influenced even if a person does not have so much muscle strength or fine motor skills. So tactilely inviting and intuitive with low thresholds. The production at the making table has never been so high and there have never been so many parents and siblings who sat down and created at the making table as today. We worked based on our library theme with imprints on square clay plates. Imprints of different materials such as kitchen utensils, corrugated cardboard, rope, pieces of textile, rolls and tubes of different kinds got to create a kind of writing on the plates. It also became possible for us ourselves to take part in creating which increased the sense of community and lowered the thresholds for parents to also participate. When we who are responsible for the workshop also have the opportunity to be participants and not only facilitate, it gives a great added value for everyone. It is noticeable when we are having fun and to create meaningful encounters it is so important that there is space both to give and to receive. It will be so exciting to see the finished result when the ceramic plates have been fired!

It was nice to see how all families engaged with our new library format. It has been fun and unfamiliar to work from a more recognisable concept: the library and its books and signs.. I think that the slightly more concrete library frame in some ways made it easier for families to engage with the room more independently. Then of course the finished performing arts experience is something else than the open experience room in the workshop. Inside the experience room we got a lot of inspiration from the workshop participants which we have taken with us as we now further developed the concept that has its premiere at the city library now during the Easter break (2 public performances Wednesday 16 April 13.30 and 15.00). Free but needs to be booked via Malmö city library’s website.

It was also especially nice to see how the workshop this time became a clear meeting place for families who already knew each other but who perhaps previously had difficulty finding a shared leisure activity that worked. I experienced that many faces that were a bit questioning when they came in had an expression of joy and warmth when they left and I received a very meaningful hug from a boy that I met for the first time! It feels a bit bittersweet that this was the last workshop in our premises and for me at a time when I am going on parental leave. I am so grateful for all the wonderful encounters and fun moments I have been part of and I look forward to when it is time for me to be part of it again.

On June 15 the workshops on the Milky Way continue with the first in a series of 5 workshops that will be held at Malmö Konsthall. Anna-Majje Wik will have the main responsibility for these workshops which are carried out together with other people from Kollaborativet. At the art hall it will be open only for our pre-registered participants between 11–13. The same concept with experience, fika and making will be offered. After 13 there will be an opportunity to stay and continue when the art hall’s regular workshop in the same room also opens its doors to the public. Some may feel that it is time to leave when it fills up with people, others may discover that it actually feels nice to stay when there has been the opportunity to start in calm and quiet. Our hope is that the art hall’s workshop will also become a place where more people feel comfortable to participate and be. If you feel like working with clay, you should register for the workshop on June 15!

Text & photo by Astrid Hemer Nordenhake, one of Kollaborativet’s scenographers.