1) Collaborative Futures Writing Workshop
Materials: various objects from Elsewhere collection, Artist-Participants: Guido Villalba Portel, Emily Ensminger, Koy Smith, Dhanraj Emanuel, Ava Zelkowitz, Orchid, Jordan Delzell, Yansa Crosby, Sean, Sean's mom, Joshua Moton, Fhalyshia Orians & Jordan Clifton
Elsewhere interns, staff and members from the Greensboro artist community participated in a workshop where we questioned present day concerns in order to build future narratives and future worlds. We asked What if Elsewhere …? questions and answered some of them by writing short stories or scenarios that involved fictional avatars. These What if questions served as a kind of groupthink but also served as a point of inquiry into much of the other work done during the residency.
COLLECTIVE RE-IMAGININGS — ELSEWHERE, GREENSBORO, NC - JULY 2017:
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE…?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE BECAME A MUSEUM FOR THE HISTORY OF CAPITALISM AFTER THE DOWNFALL OF CAPITALISM?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE COULD FULLY INTERPRET OBJECTS’ THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS BY TOUCHING THEM?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE HAD EVERYONE ROLL ON THE FLOOR TO EXPERIENCE THE ENTIRE MUSEUM?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE GAVE RISE TO A NEW KIND OF SPECIES FROM IT’S UNIQUE CLOSED BIO-GEO-CHEMICAL ECOSYSTEMS?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE CONTAINED A CURE FOR AN OLD DISEASE?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE WAS A PLACE WHERE SCIENTISTS DISCOVERED NEW INORGANIC MINERALS IN THE DECAY?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE WAS A CENTER FOR TRAUMA STUDIES, DISCUSSING THE LINE BETWEEN HOARDING AND COLLECTING?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE ADDRESSED THE OBJECTS THAT SEEM TO HAVE ABSORBED TOO MUCH TRAUMA AND THEN CREATED A DETOXIFICATION HEALING SYSTEM FOR THOSE OBJECTS?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE WAS A CULT FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE EROTICALLY TURNED ON BY TOUCHING “OLDER” THINGS ALL OVER THEIR SKIN?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE AUTOMATED ITS OBJECTS FOR DIGITAL LABOR? A CLICK FARM ARMY.
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE MADE ONLINE ACCOUNTS OR DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHS FOR EACH OBJECT? WHICH WOULD LAST LONGER? THE IRL OR THE DIGITAL REPRESENTATION OF THE THING?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE COULD LEARN DEEP PSYCHIC LESSONS FROM THE OBJECTS THAT ARE CONTAINED INSIDE IT’S DOORS?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE WAS AN EXPERIMENT IN HUMAN IMPULSE, NO RULES, NO CURATION, A DOCUMENTATION OF THE PUBLIC’S PASSING WHIMS, GREED, MESS, CHAOS…?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE WAS AN EXPERIMENT IN OBJECT IMPULSE…….DE-CENTERING THE HUMAN?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE BECAME A SPACE FOR CONNECTING US TO OUR MANUFACTURING PAST?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE BECAME A REHABILITATION CENTER FOR RACIST, HOMOPHOBIC A. I. ?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE WAS A STORYTELLING LABORATORY FOR BUILDING NARRATIVE STRATEGY AND NEW INFRASTRUCTURE?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE WAS A COLLECTIVE HOME SCHOOL & SELF-GUIDED TEACHING DIPLOMA?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE WAS A SPA ZONE FOR RE-INVENTION AND CHANGING YOUR NARRATIVE?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE HAD A KIND OF KITCHEN WHERE A DOCTOR IS ALWAYS PRESENT AND CAN ENGAGE HEALTH THROUGH FOOD AND COOKING KNOWLEDGE?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE WOKE UP A DIFFERENT BEING AND WE REALIZED THAT THIS WAS ALL A SIMULATED REALITY?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE WAS AN INTERNATIONAL SHRINE FOR A UNIQUE SECT OF TECHNO - SPIRITUAL - ANIMISM?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE WAS A PROTOTYPING SPACE FOR USING DUST, BONES, SKIN CELLS TO CREATE BUILDING MATERIALS FOR LIVING ON OTHER PLANETS?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE WAS A SPACE TO COME AND RE-ENACT YOUR TRUEST DESIRES?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE WAS AN OPERATING HOSTEL, SHELTER, AND KITCHEN/DOCTOR CO-OP FOR THE GREENSBORO COMMUNITY?
WHAT IF ELSEWHERE WAS THE ONLY EVIDENCE THAT 1939-1997 EVEN HAPPENED?
