Drawing Out Dream Communities
I recently had the pleasure of facilitating a comics workshop at the University of New Mexico Honors College. This workshop focused on dreaming up one’s ideal community using comics as an interdisciplinary arts approach to visualize and create it. Since comics make visible, tangible, and concrete even the most abstract concepts–whether that’s an emotion, an ideal, or a concept, such as a community–they are a great medium for exploring difficult subjects. I thought I would share a little bit more about it, some samples from the event, and the steps to recreate here if you would like follow along! - Amaris
First, some background:
There is an epidemic of loneliness in America, and a recent Harvard research study suggests that young adults have been hit hardest by this during the pandemic. Students have been grappling with anxiety, depression, isolation, and the physical inability to make friends (to move from an “inherited family to a chosen one”). Yet finding communities can be difficult–especially if we haven’t given thought to exactly what we want out of one. This workshop provides a space to reflect on the importance of community through reflecting on the communities one is part of and those they aspire to create or join.
Sharing original comics and their ideal communities, we may find that we have overlapping ideal communities–that we dream the same dreams–spurring us to act on their creation.
Now, some brainstorming steps. Grab your scrap paper!
Write down five communities you are part of. They can be work, sports, religious groups, etc.
What is the size of the community’s space in your life?
What is the heart of this community? What makes it a community?
What makes you feel connected to that community? What makes you feel alienated?
What community do you long for? Feel free to imagine a community that doesn’t exist or that you have never heard of. Maybe it’s very niche and specific, or maybe it’s something more general.
What is the heart of this longed-for community? What makes it a community?
What are their expectations of you? What are your expectations of them?
Develop a name for this community. This name will be the title of your title.
Now, the comic!
Grab a fresh sheet of paper. Draw the community name at the top as a title.
Draw four panels. You can use or trace a post-it note if you want help making nice squares.
In Panel 1, draw the place: Where do you meet? In a personal place (home), a professional space (work), or a “third space”: a public park, coffee shop, sports arena?
What is the lighting like there? What does it smell like? Is it seasonal, a certain time of year?
In Panel 2, we’ll draw our community members: Who is there? How many people are there? Who are the people? How do you greet them? Are there children running around?
In Panel 3, consider the core of the group and draw: What is the heart of this community? What brings to people together in this community?
Finally, in Panel 4, Imagine: How does this (ideal) community make you feel? Hoe can you draw that feeling?
Amaris has a new comic about the Berkeley Pit in the latest issue of Ecotone magazine. Learn more at their website.