A blog that seeks to make transparent the machinations of performance networks + the ardor of the creative process.
Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Re-Frame A Gathering: Reflections on Week 3

Going into the 3rd week with Re-Frame, I was a little "workshop-ed" out.
It had taken me the entire weekend to recuperate from the beautiful intensity of participating in the motiroti project Potluck: Chicago.
I came to Rumble Arts on Monday still feeling a bit frayed at the edges while at the same time wanting to sincerely witness some kind of progress from the weeks before.

This, the 3rd Monday, was a pleasant and juicy reminder of the possibilities of Re-Frame.
We did a much better job of prioritizing and implementing a bit more structure around time.
We invested a good twenty minutes in breakout sessions that allowed us to examine some of our more complex My topic centered around financial sustainability and wealth-building for artists - something that I, and so many other creatives continue to struggle with.


At the end of the breakout session, Iman, Mike, and I, arrived at an important evolution of the original question - "How do we value time?" and started to outline a few structures that would make sense as one moved along the artistic trajectory. I made a mental note to chat with Todd Brown, deYoung Museum Fellow about his newest artist service project, The ITCH (Investing in the Creative Hunch).


But my most important takeaway of the evening was our vocal and movement exercises led by Rebecca and Iman.  Re-Frame is a gathering of individuals with an incredibly wealthy, embodied knowledge.  It was not until this 3rd Monday did we have the opportunity to shut off our right brains for a moment and engage with each other with sounds and movement instead of pen and paper.  The activity happened early in the evening and as our giggles settled down and our bodies loosened up, I vowed to TALK LESS and DANCE MORE. Whatever that may look like.
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Posted on Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The First Gathering: What Re-Frame is NOT, What I Hope Will Be

This is what I did when I arrived home from the first coalescing of artists that will be Re-Frame: A Gathering. I took out some black eyed peas I had soaked, started chopping onions and scallions, washed some collards, and set out to make a stew that I had made once before via some quick post-performance notes from Amara Tabor-Smith.  Immersed in that fertile collective of voices, each one making themselves vulnerable just a bit, I wanted to feed everyone a hearty meal.  I wanted to tone down my “administrator” voice and offer up something you could eat with a bowl and a spoon.  I promise myself, “Next time, Eboni, next time.”


I feel compelled to pause and write about what Re-Frame is not. Re-Frame is not a meandering of artistic intent. It is a tangible, sink-your-teeth-in process, framed by the seasoned experiences of both Baraka de Soleil and his co-collaborator, Awilda Rodriguez.  Baraka made it a point to mention, more than once, that, as collaborative processes go, this would be one where, if you wanted to see something, hear something, say something then you should DO something about it.  Simply called “Two Feet”, it is a way of reinforcing a sense of personal responsibility.  As someone who processes quickly and is usually first to speak and offer “solutions”, I instantly latched on to such a concept.  At the same time, however, I am intensely aware of my “default zone” of organizing and curating and tried to preface my words and phrases with disclaimers.
I have no idea what will come out of Re-Frame.  Some of the artists seemed interested in building on a shared experience that occurred during The Theatrical Jazz Institute with Sharon Bridgforth.  Others seem to be throwing themselves in out of trust and a burning desire to work on something that has taken shape, just a little bit.  I believe myself to be in the latter camp.  Over the past 6 years, I have willingly dedicated myself to NOT being the artist, to do everything I can to support the creations of others.  On some level, one could say that I have been “playing small”.  Over the course of the next 7 weeks, I will be planting the seeds of a performance practice. I have no idea what form this will take or how it will take flight but my willingness is there and I am already enamored of the steps we have taken.
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