“Poetry proper is never merely a higher mode (melos) of everyday language. It is rather the reverse: everyday language is a forgotten and therefore used-up poem, from which there hardly resounds a call any longer.” Martin Heidegger, ‘Language”
We are now two episodes into the a(r)twork project. It has grown immensely from the nucleus of an idea written last November in my – too small – A6 notebook. We’re almost in November again and I can’t wait to carry this work through that time and explore many more topics.
In this short time, a few friends and internet folks have been asking for more explanation about the project, something I have only begun to come up myself in the last few weeks, reading Wikipedia articles on my phone and walking along Tyne Green recording voice notes to try and hash it out. So for those who wish to read it, here it is, my best attempt at an explanation for a(r)twork.
The mission behind a(r)twork is an ambitious one, hence why I have asked for the help of many people with many talents to help realise it. If you’re reading this then you can help too. That mission is to democratise self-expression through creativity. People live fuller lives when they are able to express their true feelings in a way that satisfies both themselves, and the people around them. Artistic creativity is just one aspect of this expression, but it provides us with a space to express those feelings which are a little harder to insert into daily conversation.
Take for a big example, language. Life would be so plain if we had never sat with friends making stupid and tenuous puns about the street names or shop signs around us, or if we’d never received a message from a loved one that gave us goosebumps, or been given a nickname that made us feel comfort.
All of these wonderful little occurrences require creativity, and I do not think creativity is something that you are born with, I think it is something that we can cultivate within ourselves. The distinction is really just that some people have been given countless opportunities since birth to cultivate and expand this ability, while others have not once seen themselves as having this opportunity to express themselves creatively. If we all had this opportunity (which we do), then life could become wider, fuller, and open itself up for us.
So with this low budget, DIY, collaborative project, we want to dissolve that perceived distinction between ‘creative’ and ‘uncreative’ people. All are free to contribute, and we hope they will feel that their reflections on creativity help them in their own practice. All are free to listen, and we hope that through the words of our contributors, those listeners can empower themselves to create and explore in their own life.
A podcast can’t do so much by itself, but the whole project is being designed so as to achieve this goal. More than anything, I hope that it can find a few pairs of ears, and empower people to realise that there is very little that divides the work of art from the work of our daily lives. And if it can do that for people then we’ll keep making it, and I hope you’ll come along for the ride.
We are always open to contributors, if you are interested in contributing then send an email to: artwork.atwork.podcast@gmail.com
Equally if you have any ideas for episodes, enterprises, anything that could help us grow and improve the a(r)twork platform, give us a shout via the same address!
a(r)twork 