Dear friends, 

We have learned so much through our analyses of systems of conditioning and disconnection (e.g., racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, capitalism, ableism, neurotypicalism, etc.). We have learned that many spaces we have experienced were not designed to meet our needs, especially our need for deep connection.

Amidst our current/recent experiences as a collective, we have been choosing not to hide our selves, how we feel, or what we need. We have been choosing to ground our selves in our raw selves, our truest selves, our authentic selves – full of our mystifiednees, our not knowing, our awe of unknown, our intense feelings, our sensitivity, our questioning, our truth-telling, our disbelief, our disagreeing, our challenging, our nonconformity/rebellion. And we have learned that the practice of being our selves requires spaces of deep connection, of home, of family that holds us in our rawest of selves. We engage in this practice of raw expression not only for ourselves but also we have been compelled, pulled, to co-create spaces of deep connection with others. With the gifts we have been given, we have decided to create spaces of deep connection, where we and those we gather with may be our rawest selves. 

– justina

Raw Movement’s School for Space Design is a collaborative art and design school bringing together professional, aspiring, emerging, former, in-born and non- artists; and leaders of spaces of deep connection to experiment with co-creating spaces of deep connection, home, family, emotional safety through collective (movement) practice. This is an artistic, research, and teaching experience for participants who, together,  explore and help build The Raw Movement Framework, an approach to inquiring about how we co-create spaces of deep connection, home, family, emotional safety , through (collective) movement practice.By collective movement practice, we mean the collective practice of moving physical energy in a space, using movement, art, and design. Through grounding, moving, and deeply connecting collective movement practice (within a playful, celebratory, and informal space), we experiment with co-creating a space of deep connection, home, family, emotional safety with each other, while contributing our own unique knowledge, skills, and tools to experiment with co-creating a space of deep connection.

Throughout the process, we develop or lead our own spaces of deep connection and share our experiences. Participants  participate in teaching, research, or space design activities to build their skills and experiences in co-creating spaces of deep connection, home, family, emotional safety . Work-study scholarships for participants in need and fellowships for exceptionally artistically aligned participants are available. Fellows work closely with Justina in exploring The Raw Movement Framework and creating individual and collective movement for space design. 

a year at our school

Space Design Groups. Participants are separated into Space Design Groups, participants’ cohorts. Participants are grouped according to any race, gender, etc. preference they have. During a school year, participants first participate in Raw Movement Camp, followed by participation in The Space Design Lab. Camp involves loosely structured, principle-heavy explorations of The Raw Movement Framework. The Space Design Lab is where participants loosely and flexibly co-design a space with art/design. The content of all experiences are always shaped by the needs, feelings, and desires of the artists and facilitators follow the group using The Raw Movement Framework, an approach to inquiring about how we co-create spaces of deep connection, home, family, emotional safety where our needs are met.

Camp. Responding to our feelings within our current collective experience, during this playful and celebratory camp, we experiment with co-creating a space of deep connection, home, family, emotional safety through collective (movement) practice. Guided by The Raw Movement Framework, we inquire into how we co-create a space of deep connection by sharing our own unique knowledge, skills, and tools. Participating artists’ current feelings, interests, and needs, guide the specific activities, games, and, individual/collective movement practice. Participants gradually co-lead collective movement practice, and collective movement practice includes individual and collective movement creation. First-time participants’ camp experience is heavily guided by Raw Movement Foundations questions (foundational questions we may ask as we begin creating spaces of deep connection). Camps are themed yearly based on disciplinary focus/artist type, and respond to artists’ current needs/interests/feelings within the current collective experience. Academic deconstructing of and experimentation with the Raw Movement Framework is a part of the experience.

The Space Design Lab. After camp, artists in the school participate in the space design lab, a loose peer-led space for for space design groups to come and informally commune, socialize, play, while we experiment with co-creating a space of deep connection, home, family, emotional safety through collective (movement) practice. Within their space design groups, participants explore, learn, and experiment with the questions of the Raw Movement Framework, as they experiment with co-creating a space of deep connection, home, family, emotional safety  through collective (movement) practice. Participants make individual and collective movement/art/design, in addition to co-leading collective movement/art/design practice. Monthly Gatherings bring together all participants to lead the space, share (and improvise) their individual and collective movement/art/design for space creation. The yearly Open House  invites the broader community to witness and join in the individual and collective movement/art/design practices that have been being created.

As we conclude the year, we are grounded in a new community we have co-created, and grounded in our power to create home for ourselves. We connect by embodying and witnessing the common states, emotions, conflicts, and movements that viscerally move us all.We come alive again and again, reacquainted with expressing a fuller range of our internal states, emotions, and conflicts. We connect to our own power to move ourselves and others – and to be moved by others. We connect by embodying the raw emotions, states, conflicts, and movements that move us all. We emerge a deeply connected, beautifully raw community.

To be notified of the next application period for The School for Space Design or to find out more information, drop your e-mail below.

To learn more about who participates in our collective & school.