No one’s event will be like your event
A couple nights ago, I went to "Solidari-tea", an event hosted by artist Car Nazzal @thankyouceramics featuring poet Janine Mogannam @hey_miss_j_ and somatic guide Alex Limón @alexandriall at gallery, boutique and event space Queer Arts Featured on SF’s Castro St.
The goal of the event was to give people a structured place to complain, feel, and garner strength to keep showing up.
A ceramics artist, @thankyouceramics (Car's), facilitation was like nothing I had ever experienced. It was both grounded and engaging, while also somehow feeling like a playful performance art. The agenda was literally set forth by ceramics!!! No, literally, the agenda was set by a series of ceramics art. How cool and unique!
Car let us know that while it may seem disorganized, there is an order and a purpose. They sweetly assured us "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
When I walked up to them afterward and told them that I loved that part, they joked, "Wow, I'm glad you fell for that." Very silly, very relatable. Facilitators do try to project confidence, but the reality is sometimes we're really nervous and unsure.
On top of this gleefully unique agenda and facilitation, there was also a low-sensory area. Endless fidget toys all around the space. Decadent saffron and rose tea, as well as sage and mint. Poet Janine Mogannam used one of those paper fortune tellers to engage the folks in the room and choose which of her poems to read -- how neat! Janine also gracefully accepted audience feedback for how to incorporate even more folks into using the paper fortune teller.
Notably, there were also human "pillars", or people that folks go to to for emotional grounding. There were other non-human pillars as well: the bathroom, low-sensory space, and an outside seating area.
When setting the container for the event, Car enthusiastically declared, "We would be so stoked to see you using any of these pillars at any time."
All in all, the way this event was structured made me giddy. I am so grateful there are people out there who are thinking in different ways. Who are making events special. Who are contributing to our collective grief and solidarity in their own way.
I talk a lot about event structure, facilitation skills, phrases and words that might be helpful. If these things resonate or inspire you, I love that. And also, no one's event will be like your event. There's a million ways for an event to be, for an agenda to look, for decisions to be made, for support and care to be given and received.
Don't let someone else's idea (including mine) of what makes a "good" event, get in the way of creating a sweet, unique space to gather.
P.S. Car Nazzal @thankyouceramics is a Palestinian artist, please support them! Also @queerartsfeatured was co-founded by a Palestinian artist in the heat of the Castro in SF. Please support and check them out!