Creative Workshop: Design of Emotions

 

Project “Center for Shaping Everyday Life”: HDD and Shadow Casters invite you to the workshop:

Dizajn emocija

– kreativna radionica Bacača Sjenki u Pogonu

Design of Emotions

• Creative workshop by Shadow Casters at Pogon

We invite all interested citizens of Zagreb, young and old, as well as students and professionals from the fields of sociology, psychology, anthropology, design, political science, law, economics, social innovation, journalism, culinary arts, public services, urbanism, heritage studies, new media, literature, performing arts, film, contemporary dance, architecture, history, and art history to participate in the “Design of Emotions” workshop, part of the “Center for Shaping Everyday Life” project by the Croatian Designers Society, Museum of Arts and Crafts, ULUPUH, Shadow Casters, and the City of Zagreb.

When: June 19 and 20 in Močvara, and June 23, 24, 25, and 26 in Pogon (total of 6 days)
Every day from 9 AM to 4 PM, free lunch provided!

The registrations are closed.

Where: Močvara and Pogon – Zagreb Center for Independent Culture and Youth, Trnjanska Struga 34, Zagreb
(Public transport: the nearest bus stop is National and University Library + 10 minutes walk – 700 m)

Workshop Authors and Leaders: Pavle Perković, Anita Čeko, Marija Georgiev, and Boris Bakal
Organization and Logistics: Zvonimir Bešlić, Nela Katić Novačić, Hana Juranović

Information about the workshop and project: bacaci.sjenki@gmail.com
Application Deadline: June 18, 2020. The number of participants is limited to 20.

About the Project “Center for Shaping Everyday Life”:

The Center for Shaping Everyday Life (COS) is a two-year research cultural project by the Croatian Designers Society (HDD) and partners MUO (Museum of Arts and Crafts), ULUPUH (Croatian Association of Applied Arts Artists), the City of Zagreb, and Shadow Casters, aimed at conceptualizing and managing a potential new cultural institution in Zagreb.

This future institution (COS) would promote and understand design and shaping in all segments of reality, everyday life, and human existence through creative, advocacy, and curatorial activities. The project is funded by the European Social Fund through the Operational Program Efficient Human Resources, along with support from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia.

Design of Emotions – Creative Workshop by Shadow Casters at Pogon

Isolation, earthquakes, and the pandemic have caught us off guard and opened various places within us. All the emotions we have experienced are a normal reaction to an abnormal situation and serve a purpose. Just as emotions design our everyday life, we can also design our own emotions. In a safe group environment, we will creatively explore our emotional potential and how it shapes our daily lives.

Workshop Goal: To creatively elaborate on the emotions and impressions we have encountered in recent months (pandemic, earthquakes, economic situation, local and state politics). The workshop provides a safe space for participants to express themselves, discuss their recent experiences, and become aware of their exit from isolation.

Ten seconds on that chilly Sunday morning was enough to wake us up. Ten seconds of an earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale at 6:24 AM shattered the illusion of safety for many citizens of Zagreb.

Although the COVID-19 epidemic severely eroded our feelings of safety and well-being, the figures of around 200 infected the day before the earthquake made it seem that the paranoia presented by the media was exaggerated—at least for those who did not lose their job overnight or face eviction.

Then came those ten seconds of the earthquake, and suddenly, we all descended into the heart of existential fear and helplessness. Because, for the bank to evict you, you must first have a place to live. For some, this became a brutal reality in just ten seconds. Suddenly, even the fact that we are alive could not be taken for granted. This message was echoed by many affected by the earthquake: “Forget about the apartments and destroyed cars; what matters is that we are alive.”

The “Design of Emotions” workshop opens up space for experiential and creative engagement with our emotional responses to our surroundings and how they shape our everyday life through four primary emotions: fear, anger, sadness, and joy.

How do we emotionally cope with the sight of the destroyed parts of our beloved city?
How does it affect us, how does it shape us?
What do empty streets in spring mean for us?

Experience teaches us that everyone has undergone at least one traumatic experience, and most of us have faced more. Long-term scientific studies show that, no matter how much we try to ignore it, such experiences leave serious psychological consequences and limit our quality of life in the long run if we do not become aware of what is happening and do something about it. It has also been shown that having a support group around us is of great benefit in times of crisis and afterward. This presents a significant potential and reason for our workshop.

It is essential to highlight the fascinating human ability to adapt and survive in various life circumstances. Thus, our desire in this workshop is to explore our creative adaptability and discover new potentials for shaping our everyday life through our emotions.

Focus: Developing group trust, support, and mutual understanding, respect, and listening. Together, we will learn to recognize and accept the previously mentioned four primary emotions: fear, anger, sadness, and joy. We aim to encourage participants not to fear accepting that no one knows how to behave when everything around us is falling apart. There is nothing shameful in fear, anger, and mourning, and through these feelings, we can unlock true potential for joy.

Challenge: To demonstrate that even very important and serious life topics can be explored in a creative, friendly, playful, and relaxed atmosphere. Join us in this exploration.

Diving into the Wreck

There are ladders,
Ladders are always there,
Hanging innocently
Beside the hull of the schooner…
I descend…
I came to explore the wreck…
I came to see the damage done
And the treasures that remain.

– Adrienne Rich

Shadow Casters are an award-winning international artistic and production platform for interdisciplinary collaboration, creativity, and the exploration of intermedial arts, successfully intertwining international cooperation, theatrical performances, urban intermedial projects, activism, educational work, video art, and curatorial practice into a cohesive artistic activity.

Biographies of the Leaders:

Pavle Perković is a graduate philosopher and religionist, a gestalt psychotherapy student. He leads creative psychotherapy work with adults and provides psychological counseling for students. He also works with refugee children for UNICEF, writes articles on child relations, engages in peace projects with war veterans and people with disabilities, and designs workshops for unemployed youth while collaborating on media literacy workshops for children, youth, and adults with Shadow Casters.

Anita Čeko holds a master’s degree in psychology and film dramaturgy. She has participated in various film and screenwriting workshops, both domestically and internationally, and leads film workshops for children and youth. She is a recipient of two grants from HAVC for developing a feature film script and is a trainee in psychodrama psychotherapy. She has been a long-term collaborator with Shadow Casters on media and film literacy programs for children and adults at various levels.

Marija Georgiev is a film director, educator, sociologist, screenwriter, and artist. She has collaborated on several Croatian films as an assistant director and has expertise in production, distribution, and managing complex cultural projects. She works on various educational and artistic projects with Shadow Casters and is the executive director of Frooom! – an interdisciplinary film school for children and teenagers. She is the author of several short films awarded at national festivals.

Boris Bakal is a theater/film director and actor, intermedial artist, curator, writer, educator, activist for modern architectural heritage, and public historian. Throughout his diverse career, he has authored numerous projects, performances, lectures, installations, and multimedia creations in over 20 countries across Europe, Asia, the Pacific, Africa, and the USA. His work emphasizes participatory elements and engages with space, time, architecture, and urbanism. He is a co-founder of Shadow Casters (Croatia), which has received numerous awards and recognitions for its work. He is also the author of the concept and initiator of the media and film literacy schools Frooom! and “Only the Sky is Our Limit.”

Recording of the Workshop and Performances:

The workshop and its performance parts will be recorded and photographed for promotional purposes. By signing up to participate, the participant consents to documentation. The documentation material may be used indefinitely in online and printed publications related to the project “Center for Shaping Everyday Life,” as well as in printed and e-publications published by HDD or project partners.

Workshop Organization:

The organization of the workshop is co-financed under the Operational Program Efficient Human Resources from the European Social Fund. The content of this announcement is the sole responsibility of the Croatian Designers Society.