Embracing Otherness: a worldbuilding workshop

Cultural Reforesting artist Nestor Pestana is inviting a small group to join him in comprehending and imagining a possible future world, when our societies have embraced a more balanced relationship with other species. This will be done through a hands-on workshop focused on bats, their culture, ecology and society.  

Bats are an excellent indicator of the quality of our environment (their environment), as their complex ecological requirements leave them highly sensitive to environmental changes. Their serious decline should be of major concern to us all. The Local Biodiversity Action Plan for Richmond 

As our culture continues to evolve through the 21st century, what societal and cultural trends will come into focus? How might they relate to our relationship with nature and the universe of bats? How might we imagine the everyday details of this world? 

The workshop will involve working with Nestor to prototype artefacts from this imagined world, exploring how a better understanding and building empathy with other species might offer us new ways to tackle environmental issues we face today. We will walk through the gallery grounds, discuss ideas and concepts for the workshop, before Nestor presents his worldbuilding framework inspired by bats. We will create our own prototypes with any preferred medium, such as drawings, films, sounds, objects… These prototypes will then go towards sculptures Nestor will create for the grounds at Orleans House Gallery. 

This 4-hour workshop will include lunch and refreshments.