Central to this inquiry is the premodern concept of 母体 Mǔtǐ (meaning mother’s body, matrix, root, originating basis), which Takeuchi invoked to describe forms of thought, processes of development, and dynamics of sociality that did not follow the trajectory of European modernity.
母体 Mǔtǐ considers a framework for a generative basis from which other technological imaginaries might emerge. Through ancestral knowledge systems, region-specific social practices, folk traditions, and ethics of production across Asia, 母体 Mǔtǐ asks: what forms of technology already exist within embodied knowledge, memory, land, ritual, and community? What non-extractive modes of relation might offer alternative technologics for an increasingly homogenized planetary condition?
Moving beyond universalized definitions of innovation and techno-progress, 母体 Mǔtǐ reimagines technology not simply as a mechanism for optimization, containment, or extraction, but as a process of deepening the intelligence that exists between us and within us.
In East Asian medicinal practice, summer is regarded as a season of restoration and nourishment; accordingly, 母体 Mǔtǐ is conceived as a generative site for repair and reorientation, metaphorically and physically akin to growth in a mother’s womb.
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ABOUT THE SUMMER SCHOOL
ON-OFFLINE STRUCTURE
母体 Mǔtǐ is an on-offline summer school that will take place in New York City and via Zoom that aims to bring together artists, researchers, curators and curious minds for deep, generative conversations.
Over three weeks, there will be eight courses and one Last Day of Classes party.
To ensure intimate and rigorous conversation, OFFLINE programs will be capped at 20 students. If you sign up for an All Access Pass or a one-off in person class, please try your best to do the readings and commit to attendance. Offline programs will be roughly 120 minutes.
All courses will also take place online. ONLINE programs will enroll up to 100 students to allow participation from around the world. Online programs will be roughly 90 minutes.
The lecture component of OFFLINE classes will also be streamed on Zoom for those who purchase an ONLINE ONLY pass. Note: Only the lecture portion of the class will be streamed; once in person group discussion starts, the Zoom will end.
There will be a total of eight lectures / workshops, and one Last Day of Classes party.
TIME COMMITMENT
You can purchase an all access pass, or one course at a time. Please note that the course time can be found in each course description below.
READING + HOMEWORK
For each course, each lecturer will provide two - three readings that we will distribute as a PDF at least 10 days before each class. The readings are optional, but will be conducive to a solid group discussion if read ahead of class time.
There will be no assigned post-class homework. The link to readings will be sent to registered participants 10 days, 5 days and 1 day before the scheduled lecture/workshop.
COURSE FEES
The All Access Pass gives students access to all OFFLINE and ONLINE courses. If you purchase an All Access Pass, we hope you commit to attending at least three of the four in person programs. Our goal is to build meaningful community through sustained critical conversation.
The Online Only Pass gives students access to all online courses, as well as the lecture part of in person courses, which will be streamed online. For in person courses that are streamed online, only the lecture component of the class will be available. In person group dialogue will
All course fees directly support the honorarium for all speakers. The course is also supported by West of Here and Ceremonies for the Future.
NOTE: If you purchase an all access pass, you DO NOT need to individually enroll for each course. We will send you instructions to access class materials ahead of time.
ORGANIZERS
母体 Mǔtǐ: A Summer School is co-organized by West of Here and Ceremonies for the Future. It is a collaborative endeavor to cultivate a new paradigm of thought-practice from postcolonial Asia, and embrace the continent as an expansive, living resource for re-enchanting the ways we connect and coexist in the face of our current climate crisis.
West of Here is a perspective shift. It is both a creative studio building cultural infrastructure that helps brands and institutions rethink audience engagement through artist projects and strategic partnerships, as well as a curatorial laboratory that looks west of here to learn from relational technologies from across contemporary and premodern Asia. Through collaborations with a global constellation of diaspora communities working across material craft cultures, West of Here reframes contemporary Asia through emergent myths beyond legacy narratives, and trade beyond capitalist structures. West of Here is founded by Zandie Brockett 张桂才.
Ceremonies for the Future is a curator-led initiative at the intersection of art, ecology, and spirituality. By establishing artistic protocols with collaborators of many worlds, the initiative seeks to nurture sacredness to contemporary belonging. Guided by local beliefs and ecological knowledge systems, we prioritize relational, non-instrumental bonds rooted in acute recognition, gracefully participating in the world’s continual unfolding. Ceremony for the Future is founded by Yuan Fuca 富源.
QUESTIONS?
This is the first summer school we've organized, so we're also learning along the way! We would love to find ways to accommodate you. Feel free to email us with any questions or suggestions: info@westofhere.studio.
