Shapers of Society Shapers of Society

“Futures is a question rather than a finished destination” Geraldine Wharry

As a member of Geraldine Wharry's Trend Atelier Community, it was an honour to have Geraldine on the podcast and share with the Shapers of Society audience an alternative perspective on futures. Our conversation was recorded nearly a year ago but seems more relevant today in the present. Especially, in reference to changes and challenges we have seen across the world in 2022 and on the back of COP27. As ever with futures, it’s a way of getting ready or questioning the way things are and considering how the future could be. This is part 1 of a series of 2.

In this Episode, Geraldine Wharry outlines her journey to the now into the future, as a pioneer and change-maker in the world of trends, sharing the opportunities and challenges within the process. The conversation covers Geraldine’s passion to create change in the world through fashioning sustainable future perspectives involving the climate and social justice, to setting up the Trend Atelier School and Community. We explore degrowth, fashion futures for a sustainable world and how futures thinking can be used to predict our own future on how we want to be in the world. We discuss a re-wilding of fashion, how new approaches are needed and going forward - showing how fashion can be more with less. We discuss the challenges of changing the industry of trends and how to move towards this will involve uncomfortable conversations and democratising of forecasting/trends. Geraldine believes we can all be futurists, and all understand how what we do today can have an impact for future generations tomorrow.

To contact Geraldine Wharry and connect with the different work she is currently involved within, please check the links below: -

https://www.thetrendatelier.com

https://www.instagram.com/thetrendatelier/

Keep up to date on latest releases and forthcoming plans for Shapers of Society podcast, press the button and subscribe. If you have any questions or interested in being featured on the show.  Email: we@shapersofsociety.org or follow-on Instagram @shapers_of_society

“Trust and Gratitude are the tools of Revolution”

In this episode we are joined by Jolie Booth is a multi-talented creative, who uses her platform Kriya Arts to share theatre, performance, and collaboration for positive change in the world. At the heart of Jolie’s work is ‘to make the world a more compassionate and extraordinary place.'

A key part of her work is centred around connection, Jolie states that ‘theatre can be used as an act of subversion, healing, discussion, and a tool for change - making it accessible and inclusive’ and to work ‘needs to look like fun’.  Our conversation weaves around stories of interconnectedness of all things - between people, nature, and everyday life that are embedded in history, mythology and culture. We chat about the Pilgrimage Walk to COP26 with her group Listening to the Land. An intervention that co-created new stories, giving the opportunity for ‘everyone everywhere’ to participate and show their love for land. The walk acts as an ‘expression of hope, creativity and a reverential kind of activism’. And for Jolie walking across the land has been a life changing experience.

Each of Jolie’s projects are rooted in connection, people, and real life. Sharing a need to write new stories of hope going forward. At the heart of these projects is a focus on ‘real people with real life stories’, to find wonder in the ‘everyday’ and in her words how ‘magic can be found in the ordinary.’



For more information on Jolie Booth at Kriya Arts you can mind below:-

Website: http://kriyaarts.co.uk

Instagram: @Kriyaarts

Keep up to date on latest releases and forthcoming plans for Shapers of Society podcast, press the button and subscribe. If you have any questions or interested in being featured on the show.  Email: we@shapersofsociety.org or follow on Instagram.

In this month’s episode, is an interview with Darren Cullen, a multi-talented satirical artist, illustrator, writer who uses humour and playfulness to draw attention towards alternative perspectives and encourage us to question what we see around us in the media. Darren initially studied advertising but felt uncomfortable with the ethical implications involved, which he felt encourages people to consume through manipulation and co-ops anything good about our culture - so he soon switched course to fine art.  Our conversation dives deeper into his journey and the process of developing some of his key projects. Our discussion focuses on his Pocket Money Loans installations at Dismaland, Subvertising, The Museum of Neo-Liberalism which focuses on marketplaces and co-option of everyday life ‘where everything is for sale’. As he had just got back from COP 26, he shares his experience in taking his Hell Bus to Glasgow and the importance of exposing greenwashing issues in climate change advertising. Darren’s approach crosses many mediums, using his creativity to spread awareness and communicate through 3D models, interactive drawings, dioramas, prints, comics installations, and experiences. Each act as interventions to interrupt the monoculture and expand our perspectives in everyday life.

Website : https://www.spellingmistakescostlives.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/darren_cullen

Facebook: @spellingmistakescostlives

Instagram: @spellingmistakescostlives

BONUS ‘The Mystery Series’

In 2022 the Shapers of Society podcast introduces the ‘Mystery Guest Series’, a bonus episode that will be released every 3 months. The aim of the series is to introduce guests who engage with a sense of mystery, wisdom and wonder through their practice. Each guest will share the process of how they engage with alternatives ways of being, encouraging a closer connection to ourselves, each other, and the world around us. This links with the ethos of the Shapers of Society podcast which aims to stretch the imagination and step outside of the known to embrace new ways of thinking and being that offer alternative solutions in everyday life.

Introduction to the Episode

For the first episode we are exploring Dreams with Angela Grillo, - an intuitive coach, dream reader and creative healing artist and maker of experimental theatre and performances.  Using dreams as a process for creativity and collaboration.  Additionally, her work inspires consciousness  through creativity and connects to embodied presence through different programmes that she offers including 121s and coaching, such as the Dream’s Rewild Sessions that focuses on connecting with the future self.

Our conversation discovers the wisdom held in our dreams and how we can apply this towards creative practice, purpose, overcoming blocks and healing ourselves.  We discuss how historically dreams have been used as future visons, messengers in ancient practices, and insights for new solutions. Or turned into new inventions and creative project ideas within films, music, and art.  We delve deeper into the empowerment of dreaming up something new, embodying dreams to connect with our inner wisdom and true selves.

Angela shares how you can understand your dreams and offer different ways to use them practically in your everyday life. As alternative ways of being in the world that connect deeper with ourselves and opens new ways of seeing the world to offer alternative solutions.

For more information or if you wish to contact Angela Grillo you can find the details below:-

Website: www.angelagrillo.com

Instagram: @dreamsrewild

A 21st century remixed culture jam with Dr Noki.

........"I'd like to be part of the evolution of sustainability... to create a sub-culture called custom build"......Dr Noki

This episode introduces you to the world of Dr Noki, an intuitive customiser/DIY genius and anti- fashion activist/artist, re-knowned for his instinctive chopping up and remixing of brands to re-create hybrid and unique garments.  Utilising remixing, cutting up and assemblage, re-inventing unique ways to present visual narratives, sustainable custom collages into textiles and clothing cultures. Our conversation travels back and re-connects forward to the sub-cultural roots and influences, from lived experiences across sub-cultures, music and art; from hip hop and early rave to artists movements such as Dadaists and the book Culture Jam – Kalle Lasn. Co-creating through our shared dialogue as a way inspire audiences to be empowered by alternatives ways forward for fashion and textiles sustainability.

Dr Noki shares his wisdoms, humour, empathy, and ingenuity in his translations in how he learnt to transcend and reinvent his own creative language, iconography, sub-cultures and new characters through empathy and creativity.  From Fashion Monsters to initiating custom build subcultures - honing a visionary perspective of sustainability, rooted in autonomy and emerging into the Noki - BIY (Build It Yourself) clothing sub-cultures.  Dr Noki exchanges his unique and genius approach when responding to the rag pile, using landfill as resources to re-assemble and re-invent what exists. To inspire a new generation of custom-built sub-cultures for a 21st century collage of the future.

Finding the positive in the landfill mountain, using instinct and intuition, he flips the rag pile in true Dr Noki style of reinvention to create ‘landfill drops’ and in the process reducing the ‘landfill up’. His school NESTT (Noki Education of Sustainable Textiles and Technology) encourages autonomy through the custom build sub-cultures, whilst nurturing ‘post-code customisers’ and ‘bedroom ateliers’. Industry collaborations with brands such as Adidas,  Katharine Hamnett and more recently the NX4S with Andy Murphy.  Always re-inventing new ways of using  Dr Noki visual vocabulary and in turn re-turns deadstock into  ‘up fusions’ as re-invention to breathe new life into leftovers.

The Dr Noki episode collages a mash up of life's creative experiences, reconstructing and reinventing destruction to respond positively to what exists, injecting new narrative’s, processes, and subcultures.  Listen in and be part of the evolution of sustainability and join the sustainable ‘custom build’ subcultural movement.

You can find Dr Noki on the following channels or join him at the NESTT (Noki Education of Sustainable Textiles and Technology) and become part of the 'custom build' community to create 21st century ideas around sustainability.

Instagram: @nokiofficial

Tiktok: @nokizine

Website: www.nokishop.com

Keep up to date on latest releases and forthcoming plans for Shapers of Society podcast, press the button and subscribe. If you have any questions or interested in being featured on the show.  Email: we@shapersofsociety.org or follow on Instagram.

The second episode features Kaye Dunnings - Creative Director of Shangri-La at Glastonbury Festival and during lock down evolved into the virtual world of Lost Horizon. The conversation goes off road, weaving through the back stories and journey Kaye has travelled to date. Influences from music, art, social movements, counter cultures, to living and working within a community of artists and performers. From the fields of Glastonbury Festival creating experiences through reuse, recycle and resist to teleporting audiences globally beyond the physical space into the virtual world of Lost Horizon. Each project creates new ways to share culture, responding to the world as it is and uses what exists to imagine new possibilities beyond the status quo. Immersive sub-cultural cities, micro worlds and communities are created using art, music, audio visuals, performance, and activism. Alternative realties use creativity to bring people together in unique ways and inspire active participation to co-create positive change.

The latest project launching Glastonbury Weekend 2021, plans to push the boundaries and potential of virtual reality, using an experimental approach to expand possibilities. The next phase of Lost Horizon brings the physical and virtual together as a hybrid. Tune in and hear the future scoop on what’s planned for Glastonbury Festival weekend 2021.

For more information on Kaye Dunnings:

https://shangrilart.com

https://www.losthorizonlive.com

Keep up to date on latest releases and forthcoming plans for Shapers of Society podcast, press the button and subscribe. If you have any questions or interested in being featured on the show.  Email: we@shapersofsociety.org or follow on Instagram.