Open Atelier by Joana: Creativity and Connection Come Together
Joana of Tribe 16 (Switzerland) is a talented artist and a deep thinker. During her time at Knowmads, she discovered that art can be used as a powerful gateway to connect to one’s self and then to others. Creativity sweeps aside small talk, offering a foundation for genuine connection from which nourishing discussions spring forth.
So she launched Open Atelier, an evening to bring the arts together: painting, drawing, experimenting with other artistic expressions, and conversation.
We asked her a few questions on the creation and development of this project.
How did the idea for Open Atelier come about?
The idea for the Open Atelier came from my interest in art, self-exploration, and connection. I see a huge importance to get in touch with our inner-world to explore and understand what’s alive in us. And at the same time we have to find a way to communicate with the world around us, to express ourselves so that we’re not stuck in isolation. I also see art as a very useful tool to combine these two qualities, because art allows us to explore our inner world without the border of the thinking mind. And the final artwork is available for the outer world and offers a basis for exchange and connection between people. In short: exploration, expression and connection in an artistic context – This is what the Open Atelier is about.
Describe what goes on at Open Atelier.
Every first Thursday of the month we’ll have a topic or a question, which is the main focus for the month. At these “Special Ateliers” we’ll start together to get in touch with each other and to dive into the monthly topic. I’ll guide you through different exercises before the space turns into an Open Atelier where everyone is free to be creative and to explore the topic for him/herself. To close the evening I’ll invite you to come together again, to share experiences, thoughts, works, etc.
The following Thursdays of the month, you can use the Open Atelier to go deeper and explore the topic by yourself without specific exercises.
Who can join?
You don’t have to be an artist to join the Open Atelier!
It’s for you if:
- You like painting, drawing, being creative.
- You want to explore topics and questions that are present in your life.
- You want to use art as a tool to express what is alive in you.
- You feel like spending time with other creative people, sharing your works and thoughts.
Yes? Then you are very welcome to join the Open Atelier every Thursday evening!
Take us through your process of designing and implementing this project.
The main goal for me is to learn as much as possible through this project. And so far, it already gave me many ‘aha’ experiences. It started with a written concept in which I formulated the idea for the first time. I decided to start with the events straight away even when the concept wasn’t clear yet, as I really believe in “learning by doing”. During the project-time I developed (and still continue to develop) the idea further with the support of Guus and my Tribe. At the moment, the main focus lays on the clarity of the concept and on the promotion.
What suggestions or new ideas came from the first two successful evenings that you’d like to try in the next one?
The previous Open Ateliers were open spaces with good music, chocolates and lots of candles and without rules and framework. This openness created a very inspiring working atmosphere. Everyone was working on his or her own piece and we just went with the flow of creativity. These moments, where time and space are allowed to be, to explore and play, are extremely valuable. Nevertheless the exchange part was missing a bit. So the upcoming events will contain more content and facilitation. At the moment I’m working on a clearer concept for the event to make this possible.
