Commonspace is a ‘living room’ for the city, located at 113 Taranaki St until October 31st… so what happens when the room is closed in a nationwide lockdown? Courtney Rose Brown followed up her original writing about Commonspace asking Mouthfull (Ollie, Jack, Sarah and Racquel) about emerging from the lockdown. First from Courtney...
Commonspace: 113 Taranaki St - Image credit: Markuza Maric
Enjoy an excerpt from Courtney’s reflections of being able to attend a few of Commonspace events at level two.
“Last week I got to see the lovely quirky cult classic Harold and Maude, take part in a journaling workshop, and join in on a meditation.
I’m pretty easy breezy with what films I consume, I don’t hunt out rare finds, and can be quite content with whatever Netflix serves me up. So having a film screening of something I’d never find or watch on my own is always quite a thrilling experience. If you’re unable to make a film screening, I’d recommend noting down the movie title so you can watch it in your own time.
I’ve come to realise that the space is more than just about connection to oneself and the community, but also practice of presence. I live a heavy screen led life, with my day job online all day, a bit of Netflix and Homescapes in my down time, it’s not often that I’m not checking my phone, even for work. So having dedicated time to exist in a space, post lockdown with strangers being still and present was surprisingly easy to wiggle into. Normally meeting new people is something that I do reluctantly, or with great anxiety, but the warmth around Commonspace cancels that out as on Saturday, most of us who showed up for the journaling workshop did so alone.
In lockdown I had a Zoom counselling session and I heard a new term, existential grief. Grief about being alive in this moment, in a large chapter of history, with climate change effects burning the edges, it can be quite hard to wish to be introspective. To plan for a future so uncertain, in the midst of a pandemic and flooding cities. As an artist, I believe that being introspective is key to creating. So it’s not surprising that over the last two years I’ve tried to close that door and have tunnel vision. So to journal and unfilter was a truly freeing experience. Journaling with Paula is a recurring event on Saturdays, so I do encourage you to go along. If you’re unable to make a session, do touch base with Commonspace so they can pass along her prompts.
The mediation was digital on Instagram live and I felt stoked to be able to do something I find challenging, on an app that often is the opposite of mindfulness.
This past week was Mental Health Awareness Week, and the awareness of self and mental health continues. Commonspace is a great place to connect with yourself and others to recharge your well being. Invite a friend crush, your actual crush or take your lovely self along to as many events as you can.”
Commonspace: Somatic Incubator - Image credit: Markuza Maric
Now over to Mouthfull…
What did you miss the most in lockdown?
Mouthfull: We missed the communal dinners, we missed the spontaneous comings and goings of all sorts of different people connecting in the space over time. We missed the Briscoes pot mural out the window. The hardest thing was not seeing familiar faces almost every other day, being in the space where there is always a flow of friendly faces about. Not having that for a few weeks was a tough adjustment as zoom and the digital realm can not fill those needs!
How does Mouthfull describe Commonspace?
Ollie: Alive, enlivening, orange, yellow, indigo, humble, fulfilling, zesty.
Jack: Good vibes.
Sarah: A crackling camp-fire to sit around with friends!
Racquel: Consistently warm and welcoming
Alert levels adaptations like jazz
Mouthfull: We improvised the alert levels like jazz. But we did know that the pandemmy had a real possibility of affecting our activities and knew we wouldn’t be able to conventionally connect with the community. Luckily one of our kaitiaki is an expert of digital permaculture and had a card up their sleeve – Naomi built us an online commonspace on the platform gather.town. Having seen many successful online spaces last year, it seemed only natural to lean into it during level 4 & 3. Level 2 is an interesting one, but we are softly welcoming people back into the social /IRL space, in a socially distanced (but not distant) way, providing slightly altered versions of our programme.
With the adaption of alert levels there’s been a mix of digital and in person sessions. Anne-Lisa Noordover one of Commonspace’s ‘artists in residence’ is actively developing their practice in the space. Anne-Lisa runs ‘poetry with pals’ in person every second Friday 2pm - 3pm and is currently painting a mural. ‘Waking up with pals’ started over lockdown and ran every Thursday morning for four weeks in order to create a regular rhythm to morning routines when we were all in separate bubbles. These morning sessions included an international ‘good news’ segment, book reviews, yoga and stretches, dance parties, writing prompts and hot drinks. All who attended saw the beauty in collectively waking up and sharing the same media while physically distant. Mouthfull have been talking about how to extend this vision to moving images and make something of a ‘community tv’ with news, interviews, reviews etc. live and direct. Anne-Lisa also started the ‘Tapestry Tales’ project to bring people’s creations over lockdown together to weave a beautiful big wall hanging.
Commonspace: The Art of Journaling w Barbara - Image credit: Markuza Maric
How was it having to shift to digital space and upholding your kaupapa at the same time?
Mouthfull: It was difficult because our kaupapa exists to bring people together, nurture whakawhanaungatanga and breathe life into community spirit & human connection. When most of our day-to-day experience is filtered through screens, much of the nuance, essence and feeling is lost in translation. In saying that, we were mindfully attempting to activate digital commonspace through hosting several online events and also acting as a node to point out other peoples/initiatives online activations. There were live DJ parties in virtual 2D space, local album/EP releases, videos made by artists/facilitators shared on IGTV, live streams, radio broadcasts and many many zoom calls.
Adjusting to level two in the space
Moutfull: Coming out of lockdown, too much social stimulation can be overwhelming and de-centring for many people. We have been finding activations more suited for intimate settings and personal kanohi ki te kanohi connection. There has been a lot of reflection and vulnerability in the space post lockdown, leaving people feel more empowered and less alone than when they entered. The needs and expressions of people have become more vital as we collectively got another taste of what the alternative to real life community is - humanity mediated via pixels, accentuating the isolation that is already so prevalent in a neoliberal society today. The aliveness is more and more palpable inside the space as people bring their own spaces, stories and energy into commonspace. We are filling up (carefully).
The Art of Seeing w Ella - Image credit: Markuza Maric
Art and soundtracks for lockdown
Ollie: I listened to this beautiful album called ‘Schaum’ several times, finished The Bone People and finished Legend of Korra. Started watching ‘The Panthers’ on TVNZ (highly recommended!), an online series on Youtube called ‘Yoga with Adriene’ and a bit of Twin Peaks here and there.
Sarah: I spent lockdown mostly reading and listening to lectures as I fell off my bike on the first day of lockdown and injured my hand! I read Raymond E. Feist’s ‘Magician’, and David Epstein’s ‘Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialised World’ (both very comforting). I went down a youtube rabbithole of lectures on utopia, social imaginaries, our history as a species of trying to send information forwards through time from ancestor to future descendant. The lecture that’s stuck with me most is called ‘Utopia is No Place: The Art and Politics of Impossible Futures.’
Jack: My favourite piece of art I consumed in LD was an audio performance from Silo Theatre based in Tāmaki Makaurau called “Mauri Tau.” Wonderful reflections to accompany a walk.
Raquel: I spent most of the time cooking and creating beautiful and nourishing meals, I found this a really grounding process as making food and enjoying it was really meditative. Most of the resources and art that I indulged in were cookbooks and Budget eats on youtube. I love watching people get creative and funky with food, it inspires me a lot to learn about how to nourish my body and eat cheap!
Was there a particular art practice you all explored, tried or continued to do in lockdown?
Ollie: I truly loved being a participant in the Commonspace online schedule(!), to risk sounding mawkish! Drawing with Ella, Singing with Violet, Journaling with Barbara, Meditating with George, Yoga with Bridget - I dabble in these practices but having them on a schedule knowing that a group of other individuals are engaging with them simultaneously was quite a special reassuring sharing of experience.
Sarah: Dancing around the city in the middle of the night! There’s something magic about going for a walk through a sleeping city and having it all to yourself, just wandering and listening to a good album! With limited dexterity I did lots of collage, but mostly just did research into mediums I want to explore through spring. The money I’d usually spend on day-to-day recreation like coffee with friends was redirected to craft supplies, fabric, and a dremel!
Jack: I managed to fill up an entire book of abstract single colour oil pastel pictures which was great practice.
Raquel: I painted with acrylics and was fortunate to paint my window sills some groovy colours to spice up my room. Got a huge canvas sitting in my room right now, but it's pretty intimidating as I am not sure what to put on it! It's about the size of me.
Image credit - Markuza Maric
E noho rā Taranaki Street
Mouthfull: Our last day is on Sunday October 31st. We were funded for three months: to pay the artist facilitators and kaitiaki on shift. We have accepted the transitory nature of the project and deeply appreciate our time here. There are still many activities in the final month, it will be a full time.
Commonspace 2.0 will be active over summer and next year, activating other ‘common spaces’ around Te Whanganui-a-Tara. We invite you to participate in the programme as it emerges and contribute to the conversation of how we can be conscious and creative in public space. Urban Dream Brokerage are legendary fulcrums of 21st Century life force here in this ecological landscape, thank you for having us.
Check out Commonspace’s new events here.
We would like to acknowledges the support of WCC, CNZ and Ash Holwell of two/fiftyseven