There is a lot of awareness and interest in making change and yet change still isn’t really happening, at least not at the pace or scale that we need. It feels to me increasingly like there’s not a lack of awareness, nor a lack of concern, or even a lack of willingness, but actually a lack of agency. I’ve been thinking a lot about the role of arts, and culture and creative practice in helping people not just wake up to the need for change, but actually undergo the entire transformational process from that moment of waking up (which you and I share a language around Buddhist practice). There’s that idea that you can wake up in an instant but integrating the awakeness into your daily life is actually a process. It’s an ongoing thing.
alexis frasz, conscient podcast, May 6, 2021, Oakland
Alexis Frasz is a researcher, writer, strategic thinker, program designer, and advisor to partners in culture, philanthropy, and the environmental sector working for transformative change and a just transition. Alexis believes in the need to build solidarity between artists and culture and broader movements working for racial, ecological, and economic justice. She is co-director of Helicon Collab, an Oakland based consultancy, where her focus is on the intersection of culture and the environment. Her perspectives on systems change draws on her artistic practices and diverse background in anthropology, Chinese Medicine, permaculture, and Buddhism.
I first met Alexis at Creative Climate Leadership USA, a learning and leadership exchange focused on developing creative responses for a new climate future, that took place in March 2020. Alexis was a faculty member and advisor. Since then, we have been exchanging by email about community-engaged arts, Buddhism, leadership and more.
I was honoured that Alexis accepted my invitation for a conscient conversation, which was recorded on May 6, 2021, remotely between my home in Ottawa and Alexis’ home in Oakland, California,
As I did with all episodes this season, I have integrated excerpts from previous episodes in this case, from e19 reality in this episode.
I would like to thank Alexis for taking the time to speak with me, for sharing her deep knowledge of socially engaged arts, leadership, education and strategic thought.
For more information on Alexis’ work, see https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexis-frasz-59183a1/
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Il y a beaucoup de sensibilisation et d’intérêt pour le changement et pourtant le changement ne se produit toujours pas vraiment, du moins pas au rythme ou à l’échelle dont nous avons besoin. J’ai de plus en plus l’impression qu’il ne s’agit pas d’un manque de sensibilisation, ni d’un manque d’intérêt, ni même d’un manque de volonté, mais plutôt d’un manque d’action. J’ai beaucoup réfléchi au rôle des arts, de la culture et des pratiques créatives pour aider les gens à ne non seulement se contenter de s’éveiller à la nécessité du changement, mais à subir tout le processus de transformation à partir de ce moment d’éveil (dont toi et moi partageons le langage autour de la pratique bouddhiste). Il y a cette idée que l’on peut se réveiller en un instant, mais de savoir comment intégrer cette prise de conscience dans nos vies quotidiennes est en fait un processus. C’est un processus continu.
alexis frasz, balado conscient, 6 mai 2021, Oakland, Californie
Alexis Frasz est chercheur, écrivaine, conseillère stratégique, conceptrice de programmes et conseillère pour les partenaires de la culture, de la philanthropie et du secteur environnemental qui œuvrent pour un changement transformateur et une transition juste. Alexis croit en la nécessité de construire une solidarité entre les artistes et la culture et les mouvements plus larges travaillant pour la justice raciale, écologique et économique. Elle est co-directrice de Helicon Collab, un cabinet de conseil basé à Oakland, où elle se concentre sur l’intersection de la culture et de l’environnement. Son point de vue sur le changement des systèmes s’inspire de ses pratiques artistiques et de son expérience diversifiée en anthropologie, en médecine chinoise, en permaculture et en bouddhisme.
J’ai rencontré Alexis pour la première fois lors du Creative Climate Leadership USA, un échange d’apprentissage et de leadership axé sur le développement de réponses créatives pour un nouvel avenir climatique, qui a eu lieu en mars 2020. Alexis était membre du corps enseignant et une conseillère. Depuis lors, nous avons échangé par courriel sur les arts engagés dans la communauté, le bouddhisme, le leadership et bien d’autres choses encore.
J’ai été honoré qu’Alexis accepte mon invitation à avoir une conversation sur le balado conscient., qui a été enregistrée le 6 mai 2021, à distance, entre mon domicile à Ottawa et celui d’Alexis à Oakland, en Californie,
Comme je l’ai fait pour tous les épisodes de cette saison, j’ai intégré des extraits d’épisodes précédents dans ce cas, de la e19 reality dans cet épisode.
Je tiens à remercier Alexis d’avoir pris le temps de me parler, de partager sa profonde connaissance des arts engagés socialement, du leadership, de l’éducation et de la réflexion stratégique.
Pour en savoir plus sur le travail d’Alexis, consultez https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexis-frasz-59183a1/.
The post e40 frasz appeared first on conscient podcast / balado conscient. conscient is a bilingual blog and podcast (French or English) by audio artist Claude Schryer that explores how arts and culture contribute to environmental awareness and action.
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About the Concient Podcast from Claude Schryer
The conscient podcast / balado conscient is a series of conversations about art, conscience and the ecological crisis. This podcast is bilingual (in either English or French). The language of the guest determines the language of the podcast. Episode notes are translated but not individual interviews.
I started the conscient project in 2020 as a personal learning journey and knowledge sharing exercise. It has been rewarding, and sometimes surprising.
The term ‘conscient’ is defined as ‘being aware of one’s surroundings, thoughts and motivations’. My touchstone for the podcast is episode 1, e01 terrified, based on an essay I wrote in May 2019, where I share my anxiety about the climate crisis and my belief that arts and culture can play a critical role in raising public awareness about environmental issues. The conscient podcast / balado conscient follows up on my http://simplesoundscapes.ca (2016–2019) project: 175, 3-minute audio and video field recordings that explore mindful listening.
Season 1 (May to October 2020) explored how the arts contribute to environmental awareness and action. I produced 3 episodes in French and 15 in English. The episodes cover a wide range of content, including activism, impact measurement, gaming, arts funding, cross-sectoral collaborations, social justice, artistic practices, etc. Episodes 8 to 17 were recorded while I was at the Creative Climate Leadership USA course in Arizona in March 2020 (led by Julie’s Bicycle). Episode 18 is a compilation of highlights from these conversations.
Season 2 (March 2021 – ) explores the concept of reality and is about accepting reality, working through ecological grief and charting a path forward. The first episode of season 2 (e19 reality) mixes quotations from 28 authors with field recordings from simplesoundscapes and from my 1998 soundscape composition, Au dernier vivant les biens. One of my findings from this episode is that ‘I now see, and more importantly, I now feel in my bones, ‘the state of things as they actually exist’, without social filters or unsustainable stories blocking the way’. e19 reality touches upon 7 topics: our perception of reality, the possibility of human extinction, ecological anxiety and ecological grief, hope, arts, storytelling and the wisdom of indigenous cultures. The rest of season 2 features interviews with thought leaders about their responses and reactions to e19 reality.
my professional services
I’ve been retired from the Canada Council for the Arts since September 15, 2020 where I served as a senior strategic advisor in arts granting (2016-2020) and manager of the Inter-Arts Office (1999-2015). My focus in (quasi) retirement is environmental issues within my area of expertise in arts and culture, in particular in acoustic ecology. I’m open to become involved in projects that align with my values and that move forward environmental concerns. Feel free to email me for a conversation : claude@conscient.ca
acknowledgement of eco-responsibility
I acknowledge that the production of the conscient podcast / balado conscient produces carbon. I try to minimize this carbon footprint by being as efficient as possible, including using GreenGeeks as my web server and acquiring carbon offsets for my equipment and travel activities from BullFrog Power and Less.
a word about privilege and bias
While recording episode 19 ‘reality’, I heard elements of ‘privilege’ in my voice that I had not noticed before. It sounded a bit like ‘ecological mansplaining’. I realize that, in spite of good intentions, I need to work my way through issues of privilege (of all kinds) and unconscious bias the way I did through ecological anxiety and grief during the fall of 2020. My re-education is ongoing.
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