Creative Class

Envisioning a Community

When we think about the arts, arts education and society - which role do communities play now and in the future you want to live in? Follow our first classroom and start to envision a community!

What Is a Creative Class?

A creative class is a mix of input and associative, creative and active tasks and challenges on one future relevant topic. You are invited to follow the classroom and complete the tasks. The creative class can be conducted either on your own or with others (eg. your friends, colleagues, or fellow students). Each creative class can be followed independently from other creative classes and without previous knowledge.

Start the Creative Class "Envisioning a Community"

Step 1: What is a Community?

A community is “a unified body of individuals”, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. They can be unified by various factors such as living in the same neighbourhood, sharing an interest, having a common history, or sharing common characteristics.

For example, an institute of higher art education is a community connecting its members to a common educational goal or mutual workspace.

What Means Community to You?

Define what you consider to be a community.

Is it local or global? What factors unify its members?
What are examples of communities you belong to?

Take what you need to take notes (pen and paper, tablet…).

Step 2: Collecting Knowledge and Getting Inspired

Now it’s time to collect some knowledge and inspiration on the topic of communities!

Read the FAST45 scrolly telling narrative on the topic of “Art Schools and Their Local Communities” and watch the associated short film “ArtCollab.” Click here.

Step 3: Brainstorming

Conduct a thought experiment: Envision a community that best aligns with your ideals. Use the following questions to inspire and guide your thought process. You can collect your thoughts in the form that feels most comfortable to you eg. a written text, mind map, voice memo, video…

Where is this community located? (This doesn’t have to be a physical space or realistic, may also be digital)
How large is this community?
What are the aspects that connect its members? (eg. beliefs, goals, location, professional interests, socio-political interests, characteristics, shared history)
What exchanges are there between the community members? How would these exchanges be structured? (eg. material goods, monetary, emotional, communication, knowledge exchange)
What are the components necessary for the community to thrive? (eg. shared activities, support systems – internal or external, mental and or physical health, stability/security)
How would the community sustain itself? Would it be reliant on external infrastructure?
How does belonging to this community benefit its members in their well-being?
What would your engagement in the community look like?

Step 4: Creative Output

We invite you to develop a creative representation of this community.

It may take the form of a collage, mood board, photographs, video, painting, sound collage, song, animation, performance or whatever format feels fitting to you.

Share the results with us!

Scroll down and upload your results to this page.

Step 5: Your Current Local Community

Bring your vision back to your local surroundings. What ideas from your ideal community could have a positive impact on the already existing communities in your life? How could you share these ideas with them? How could you help improve them in the future?

Below you can find some examples of challenges you could undertake in order to build or develop communities around you.

Feel free to share your further results with us at the end of the page or via Instagram #FAST45.

Challenges

Get to know your local community initiatives (NGOs, organisations, volunteers). Find out how you could collaborate with them.
Encourage the people around you to also take this class and stage a mini-exhibition with your results.
Create a spot for community exchange. It can be as much as just hanging a piece of paper that says “Leave or take whatever you need”. Invite your friends or neighbours to also leave some things ranging from food to clothes to books.
Pick a (local) community project and reflect on it critically. What was good about it? What was missing? What could be done better? What would you add based on your previous brainstorming?
Think about the next 25 years. How will communities develop in the future? What new ways for a connection could there be? Write a short story about this future community.