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Over the course of Sept2022 AK via Sid Ryan Eilers, organized a new phase of Collapsing the Night (CTN) focused on an open-ended creative exploration through movement, projection, sound, collage, costume, land-based practices, storytelling, and more. 

CTN #1

The creation period took place over September, three times a week from 3-5 hours per session. The process was held in the Gage Park Tropical Greenhouse, with a large group of folks both facilitating and participating throughout the month. The project was launched with the flexibility and thoughtfulness that is so needed but often omitted in creative projects that have a deadline and associated product that needs to be completed. Beginning the process, I voiced my interest in documenting creative processes and suggested I could do so and share this documentation in some capacity. This type of documentation is something I have been attempting to do with my work as well. 

As mentioned, the process of this project began from a completely open-ended place. Meeting on the common ground of the greenhouse and a shared interest in curiosity and creativity, the project began. CTN phase2 dispensed with the pressure of producing a product and focused on the development of a creative process for this group of collaborating artists. That being said, there was still so much of the how that was unclear. The how is what was to be discovered. I have found the process of documenting this process (how many times do you think I can use this word in one blog?) to be very similar.

Which is so fitting <3

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

First, I thought that perhaps this role would require me to be more of a documenter from the outside looking in. However, with Rose, our team’s organizer and anchor, much of the documentation was taken care of. Additionally, I found that having the experiences and creating points of reflection and relation to the other folks in the space was a much more accurate way of “documenting” this process than renaming on the outside as a witness. Moving forward with this approach, I feel it's necessary to state the obvious that I can only document and reflect from my perspective, and of course, this means this set of blog posts will not create a complete picture of the past month and everything that took place. The writings I leave here will be reflective on specific topics and meander in and out of thoughts and ideas that surfaced inside of our sessions. The following writings are also intended to sound like a person, and, like me. Straying from conventions used in academic writing or comprehensive documents like journalistic articles, these writings too are an exploration of expression. Voice. Authenticity. Wielding grammar like a…pool noodle.

hang on y’all.

- mike

process count: 8