Sara Garzon "World Making Practices: A Take on the Future"- CSUS Lecture

 Notes on a Latin America Futurity

This editorial project encapsulates world-making practices as an intersectional provocation gathering diverse voices by artists, academics, and curators. It addresses two main questions:

How can new ways of worldmaking yield forms of reaccesibility that counter the many de-furturing narratives that surround us?

and How can we foster relationships of ally-ship, kinship, solidarity, and reciprocity to connect among the various worlds human and nonhuman that we already inhabit?

She defines survivance- as "a neologism that combines concepts of survival and resistance position in contemporary indigenous people is not only present but is thriving resisting oppression, refusing to be marginalized and actively asserting sovereignty as a nation.

Followed by examples of artwork that tackle this, she spoke of how important the oil spill in the Ecuadorian  Amazon was to environmental justice activism, because it was the first time indigenous people came together and won against this destruction.

She then turns her attention to imagining and organizing what indigenous futures might look like, in light of these environmental circumstances. This became an exchange Sara initiated between artists for the editorial projects. Specifically she needed to engage artists that could approach the notion of the future through their work. The beginning of this accumulating artist was in the early and scary days of 2020, complicating the rally cry while also receiving lots of interest and support. On a personal note it feels bold and visionary to propose thinking of the future at such an uncertain, and bleak time globally.

I am most impressed by the collective effort in this project, while Sara's organization of the project is notably impressive, the actual reach of the project to many creators and creatives, is surprising and one of the most refreshing aspects, especially knowing when it took place.

I also see art making, as self creation. Fundamentally it makes logical sense to me that collecting make makers, and self-makers together to create visionary ideas about how we make our worlds, and realms as a collective of ideas and prompts for what and how a society might continue to generate making itself. How better than through the creation of art, and this of the people forum and abstraction of ideas?

There are 18 artists, in no particular order, where you let the project entangle you as you explore these artists and their visions, embracing the explorative aspect. 

The overall take away leaves me feeling hopeful, and reflective. I am overwhelmed with appreciation for what I and others possibly take for granted. Then I am left with the hope of seeing that people have envisioned many futures, many solutions, possibilities and moments of catharsis. I see many examples of how people practice survivance by creating narrative of what could be, and how alternative to western ideals there are important and species saving possibilities. It stresses the importance of the now through seeing possibility, and pointing out fault, politics, problems, and societal ideas that harm us rather than help.