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SenseLabs: Call for Participants

We are currently seeking participants for an unusual and rare opportunity: the SenseLabs are coming to southern Ontario!

First conducted in Lethbridge, Alberta, the SenseLabs are an initiative of Musagetes, a philanthropic artistic organization based in Guelph with a mandate to make the arts more central and meaningful in people’s lives. For the new SenseLabs in Ontario, Musagetes is partnering with the rare Charitable Research Reserve, a 900+ acre land trust and environmental institute located on Blair Road in Cambridge.

The SenseLabs are a research project that brings people together to work with artists and each other, creating artistic work in response to a central question: what does the land and nature mean to you? What does rare mean to you? Through the collective and creative exploration of these questions, participants will help rare to understand more fully the role of ecological thinking in transforming the world around us—and for Musagetes to better understand the transformative and reconciliatory power of the arts.

This is a fun and enriching opportunity for people interested in the arts, nature, storytelling, the history of the region, local plants and animals, geology, conservation, Indigenous relationships to the land, intercultural understanding, or all of the above.

The SenseLabs will happen at the rare Charitable Research Reserve in Cambridge, Ontario. Participants will engage with the site through a number of creative activities (movement, voice, clowning, spectacle, procession, storytelling, visual arts) and discussions, led by artists and facilitators who have specialized knowledge in the arts, the land, the history of the site/region, and traditional & customary practices in relation to the land. No previous experience with creative practice or knowledge of rare is necessary to participate.

SenseLab workshops will take place on the following dates (6-hour days):

• September 10, 17, 18, 24
• October 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30
• November 5

Selected participants will be compensated modestly for their time, and must commit to a minimum of nine workshop dates within the dates listed above. Participants must be available for the public performance on November 5. Refreshments and lunch will be provided on each of the workshop days.

We strive to ensure the SenseLabs experience crosses cultures, communities, and generations. In your expression of interest to us, let us know in a few sentences:

• Why you are interested in participating in SenseLabs at rare Charitable Research Reserve and how you have been previously involved with rare (if you have been);
• Your cultural background and interests;
• What you feel your unique life experiences, interests, and perspectives can contribute to the work we will be doing.

Please send your expression of interest by Monday, July 18, 2016, to Elwood Jimmy, Program Coordinator at elwood@musagetes.ca.

Musagetes is a philanthropic artistic organization based in Guelph with a mandate to make the arts more central and meaningful in people’s lives For more information about Musagetes and our programs, please visit our websites at musagetes.ca and artseverywhere.ca.

The rare Charitable Research Reserve is a 900+ acre land trust and environmental institute and home to beautiful and culturally significant landscapes that include trees more than 240 years old. The reserve strives to preserve the land for future generations by focusing on conservation, ecological restoration, research, education, and passive recreation opportunities to the surrounding community. For more information about rare, please visit raresites.org.