#reimagine lab
1- discover /
With the coronavirus lockdown in place across Lebanon, we found our life on hold and our projects postponed. And we felt we weren’t alone in this particular situation - what was happening to us was in fact happening to people all over the world, at the same time. We felt more connected than ever before, knowing that our collective future was at stake.
It became clear to us that there was a need to address the uncertainty and lack of clarity around our future as movement artists, amidst a global pandemic, economic recession and social deconstruction.
Even though it was challenging to think of tomorrow, it was necessary for us to take a leap into this unknown and reimagine it. So while the ground was still shifting beneath us, we decided to embark on an online lab to redesign and experiment with a way forward, exploring new ways of working, collaborating and creating online.
2- ideation /
Context is something we consider upfront in the work we do, and so with this new reality in mind, we went to the drawing board and turned to our skills to see how we can contribute.
It seemed like there was an ocean of tiny opportunities at the quarantine table. Change was at our doorsteps and we had a different kind of time! Time to reflect and reimagine.
We felt we were being given a blank canvas, where neither the present nor the future were clear. And the only way we could deal with all the uncertainty was to do what we know best: tap into the creative and innate power of our body, and move. As movers and dancers, we’re trained to think on our feet and to work with change.
Change is Movement. Movement is Change. Imagination is Key.
During the lockdowns, it became abundantly clear how much our brain, our body and our environment are inseparable. What happens to one, happens to the other two.
So from moving our thoughts from mind to body, from words to movement, from visualization to embodiment, we could bring ourselves one step closer and reconcile us with a new reality that may very well be on its way.
3- design /
So a few weeks into the COVID-19 lockdown we embraced this shift towards the online world. We collaborated with a group of creative writers and creative movers from around the world in an online lab, about what the future looks like to them.
The lab consisted of an online methodology to create and produce remotely and virtually visions of futures that would warmed us up to a different tomorrow, and in its own way helped set in motion one of many possible futures.
methodology:
We sent this text to a select group of creative writers around the world only a couple of weeks into the lockdown. At a time when it was challenging for many of us to think of the future, many writers appreciated the exercise as it helped them channel some questions they’d been asking themselves.
We then read through their works and paired them up with creative movers from around the world. In turn, the movers were asked to respond or interpret the text they’d received. In their spaces and with their bodies, they gave the text a form and color; through movement, they gave it life.
We then took the text and footage, added narration and music, and we pieced them together with our film editors to create 8 different episodes.
“what does the future look like?”“We’ve been given a blank canvas. The title? Our future. What would you paint on it? What does it look like as of one month, or 10 years? What do you foresee people doing? How are they interacting? It’s so important we take the time to envision, warm up, and embody this future in the present.When you close your eyes and think of tomorrow, do you imagine… A dominant collective emotion? Touch taking on a new meaning? New devices in our home offices? New or old public transport systems?Feel free to explore the general and the specific. From manifestations of love to the type of mattress that simulates hugging while we sleep on it, this is your time to dictate your tomorrow-land. Be your full creative self.”4- pilot/
With the outputs in our hands from both writers and movers, we made Glimpses of a Future - a limited web series of home-based short films of dance. The series piloted on social media channels between the months of April to June 2020. The impact of these 8 episodes resonated beyond what we could have foreseen. We discovered that the work spoke to an incredibly diverse group of people. There was clearly so much more to explore.
With this validation in mind, we proceeded to search for online streaming platforms interested in this kind of content. And this is how Front Row Filmed Entertainment picked up this
The episodes depict a range of emotions and gently remind us that in times of extreme uncertainty a basic human need emerges, that of reimagining the future. Soon after the collaboration was completed, the Beirut port blast happened. With everything shattered, the only way forward was to come together and reimagine the future one more time. Furthermore, Yaraqa as a Lebanese socio-cultural enterprise sought to connect with its community of Lebanese and international artists, to be a part of a larger circle, discover and be discovered, exchange and engage. This is when Glimpses of a Future - which started within the Yaraqa creation lab with the support of Drosos Foundation and piloted on social media - was later pitched to Netflix through Dubai-based independent film distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment.
Since then, Yaraqa developed the Glimpses of a Future / Experience - an event consisting of screenings, panel discussions and/or workshops that encourage participants to investigate how the future of creative productions will look like for artists, creatives, cultural and educational institutions and creative companies, whose priority in times of uncertainty has become sustainability.
