Short Abstract:

This lab will work creatively with the leftovers of ethnographic research and anthropological practices through poetry and art. Led by editors from Otherwise Magazine, we will move through hands-on exercises and finish with a collaboratively developed zine or mural.

Long Abstract:

What happens to the leftovers of anthropological practice? What do we do with the parts of our ethnographic experiences and research materials that have inevitably been trimmed out of finished outputs? What are the doings/undoings that these leftovers would allow, if brought back to the center of the scene?

Especially given the intensity of fieldwork, anthropology is made of many things we decide to or have to discard. In our writing, as well as in more creative and visual forms of representation, aspects of what we have experienced, sensed, witnessed, felt or understood, are often left out of the frame. The reasons for this vary - perhaps related to the ethics and politics of fieldwork, but also to the often tyrannical needs of theoretical coherence and argumentative consistency.

Guided by playfulness and curiosity, we will work creatively with the leftovers of our anthropological practices. We aim to bring discarded materials, aspects, stories, and images back to the center of the scene, reclaiming and transforming them through textual/poetry and visual prompts. Led by editors from Otherwise Magazine, this lab will begin with a collective warm-up exercise, move through a couple of guided prompts, and will culminate in a collaboratively developed zine or mural.

This hands-on and collaborative workshop will require pre-registration with a maximum of 25 participants. Participants will be requested to bring in “leftovers” from their work that they would like to experiment with, such as fieldnotes, images, objects, archival documents and/or materials.