During the 2022 Voqal Fellowship convening, Voqal was once again honored to have poet, Molina Speaks, document the meeting through a process called Live Scribe Poetics. This year’s poem reflects the cohort and the work it hopes to accomplish during its fellowship. The third part of the poem is below. See part I and part II.
—TOGETHER—
Time, Space, Tables and Chairs:
Collected Fragments of Dreams and Realities Part III
a Live Scribe Poetic Reflection by Adrian H Molina as inspired by Voqal Fellows 2022 Cohort
So we will focus on research and local narratives,
public engagement and exhibition, the celebration of roots,
independent bookstores, podcasts, documentation, media innovation,
community archival work, the development of next generation leadership,
the preservation and re-use of historic space,
communal think tank space for practical conversations,
and bridge-building between old infrastructure and new unchartered dreams.
Pause here, and reflect back to the reality of Relational Rhythms.
Remember the chair, flipped on its head in the center of the room—a conversation starter.
A reminder of the power of disruption, and the many dimensions to our problems.
We have been through a portal, a pandemic, and we are emerging
with choices to make about how we wish to engage time and space, together.
We are quickly re-learning here that 10-minute timeframes and strict schedules
will not be able to contain our knowledge, nor our humanity.
This should cause us to rethink how we organize Everything
What would it mean to begin and end every meeting, every function,
and every convening with something creative?
How would that enrich the human spirit? How would that inform our outcomes?
What would it mean to spend less time in front of computers and more time with people?
What would it mean to design project goals, relations, and responsibilities
from a place of human needs, and not merely from the blueprints of corporate boardrooms?
What would it really mean to built wealth together, collectively?
(Something we somehow seem to keep talking about…without talking about money…)
What would it mean to center gains, pains, and inputs…from a place of unconditional love?
It is said that power corrupts absolutely,
so how can we best work together to build and share power?
Like, “What would it mean to be sustainable?”
Within a planetary body? Within your home? Within your personal life?
Within a five-year plan? A 10-year plan? A 20 year plan?
Like, “If you’re not talking ownership…then…we are not having a conversation.”
Meaning, if it is not liberating and sustainable…we do not have the patience.
We wish to affirm that Artists will design the future,
and that they should be paid well for their blueprints,
because art is power, because culture is power, because we can
transform ordinary places into extraordinary spaces.
We affirm that creative vision is what got us here in the first place,
convening around the money table, eating, drinking, laughing, and dreaming.
Learn more about the Voqal Fellowship and the 2022 cohort on our fellowships’ page.