Welcome to The Art of Belonging Workshop!

How do we create safety and nurture belonging in community spaces and events, especially in these sparky and changing times?

Stellar Village's Kinship Tending for Events series has inspired WisconSing organizers to bring intentional practices that create and support more safety & belonging to our event, as well as in our local Viroqua community. It is a new day, a time for us all to come together to learn new ways to live together with grace, not avoiding inevitable ruptures, but learning repair skills to help us turn toward each other during times of challenge.

Grisha Stewart, creator of this series, defines Kinship as:

"A rooted feeling of closeness, of being 'family,' a shared sense of responsibility for well-being."

and defines "Individualism is an oppressive myth. We are not only kin with our biological family, but all humans – in fact, All Beings!"

Grisha goes further to define Kinship Tending as:

"An ongoing, intentional practice of supporting thrivability for all beings in our sphere of influence

• Our nervous systems are interwoven. Breathing deeply, sharing regulation skills, teaching songs, checking in, listening with your whole body, consent, hugs, etc.

• Sew seeds of connection. Make it easier for folks to be known and bring their gifts to community

• Facilitate social learning to promote joy and reduce harm. Attunement, reciprocity, conflict as a growth tool, and collaborate on the evolution of norms

(Adaptive Attachment – Gaskins, et., al 2017, Keller, 2021)"

Our intention in this Art of Belonging Workshop is to share some of the information Stellar Village has so beautifully laid out and translate it into "Belonging Art". This art will then be yours to take home or donate to the WisconSing Kinship Space at this summer's event.

We ask that the morning session be adult/teen, the afternoon maker space is a great time for children to make art supervised by their adult. We are creating a group art project as well.

We will do this beautiful work together at Defiance Springs, on the land surrounded by creek and forested hills.

Here is our Schedule (subject to change):

9AM WHAT IS BELONGING? HOW DO WE TEND KINSHIP?

10 TALKING CIRCLE (How do you experience belonging in your life?)

11 DESIGN YOUR BELONGING ART

12 POTLUCK COMMUNITY MEAL (We're making Stone Soup - bring veges for the soup, we have a well washed stone.)

1-3PM MAKERS SPACE: Belonging Prayer flags, Signs & Posters

Sliding scale fee: $5 - $75

(This is a fundraiser to provide diversity support at the WisconSing event...POC/Affinity space, sanctuary space, work traders giving their time to be available in Kinship Tending Space for individual connection and Kinship programming on-going during the event.)

THE ART OF BELONGING (a fundraiser to support Kinship Tending at WisconSing)