Editors:  Shauna Butterwick, Astrid von Kotze, and Shirley Walters

Technical Assistance: Phuoc Khau and Leslie Cordie

​

Message from the President - President Shirley Walters

 

Editorial - Shauna Butterwick, Astrid von Kotze, and Shirley Walters

 

Articles:

​

​

Ancestors for a Time to Come: Living into the Wheel of Deep Time

Elizabeth A. Lange

Abstract

​We are in a moment of creation as well as dying; the unravelling frees up energy pooled
in existing institutions and structures, making it available for regenerating our way of living
together. During the ensuing dark age, we can remember we are ancestors of the time to come.

​​Keywords: regenerative futures, ritual remembering, Wheel of Time

​​

And Still They Dance

Denise Nadeau

Abstract

​Recalling a dance to the North American anti-war song War of the Flea, Nadeau reflects on the function of dance, patience, and joy as well as insights from Indigenous teachings to address our present context.

​​Keywords: dance, revolutionary joy, patience

​​​

Between Exhaustion and Joy: Women Water Protectors and Renewal

Claudia Diaz-Diaz

Abstract

In this piece, I reflect on the lived experiences of women water protectors in southern Chile, focusing on their resilience amidst the exhaustion of activism. I situate this story at a gathering in Curacautín, to ask: how do these women cultivate joy and laughter while fighting for water rights and climate and gender justice? Despite this political setback, the women continue to foster spaces of joy, solidarity, and renewal through community and shared experiences. I conclude with a reflection on how, as a researcher, I can better learn from and support their ongoing work. 

Keywords: women water protectors, southern Chile, joy, exhaustion, community

​​​

Ask the Trees

Katie Ross

Abstract

What does the future hold? Ask the trees, they have much to tell us.

​Keywords: human agency, trees, landscape regeneration, restoring the water cycle, climate cooling

​

Moonlight in the Darkness: The Dance of Poetry

Shauna Butterwick and Jane Munro

Abstract

In this submission we share some experiences of how poetry created a space for holding both hope and despair. We suggest that poetry, its specifics, imagery and metaphor can be part of transformative learning, helping us to keep dancing in the midst of the great unravelling.

Keywords: poetry, architecture of imagination, hope and despair

​

Climate and Conflicts: Wrecked - The Next Place is Peace - Maybe

Gabriella Maestrini

Abstract

​Destruction, climate, conflicts and resulting migration go hand in hand. Destruction through earthquakes, wildfires, hurricanes and other so called “natural” disasters cause destruction and displacement of human and non-human animals without acknowledging human intervention. While many distinguish between human caused and natural disasters, the consequences of displacement and destruction may be similar.

Keywords: hope, rubble, resistance, scarring, conflict

​

Surface and Rust

Sharon Clancy

Abstract

I offer two poems about linking with nature and material transformation.

Keywords: poetry, decay, becoming

​

Penelope in Minsk, 2020

Rob Evans

Abstract

Learning biographies serve as a reserve of crucial social and emotional competence coping with dislocation. Explored here is Aleksandra, a learning biography about the protests and conflict following the robbed Belarus presidential election of August 2020. Like a Belarusian Penelope, it weaves tapestry, previous narratives are unravelled. Hope arises as the telling starts over and over. .

Keywords: learning biographies, dislocation, hope

​

From Other People's Light to the Soles of My Feet - Creating Music that Resonates with Encountering Others

DHsin-Pei Chen (Vina)

Abstract

​This is a journey that begins with the image of death in my dreams. Driven by curiosity about death, I embarked on a quest for life, observing how death manifests in this world and learning to stand firm in the face of extreme situations. The world is a vast totality, where forms of death and life coexist. The closer we come to destruction, to the edge of death, the more deeply we uncover the essence of life—to reclaim our strength and commit ourselves to renewal.

Keywords: cultural roots, soulmate, dialogue, music across divides

 

​When at the Cliff Edge, Take a Big Step Forward

Rebecca Freeth and carine roth

Abstract

.We reflect on the “great unravelling” from the vantage point of being in our 50s, noting how different this is to the vantage point of younger generations. Characterizing this moment as being at the proverbial cliff edge, we explore what to do there. What to do with our fear, and – inspired by the young ones - seizing the possibility to change everything by taking a big step over the edge.

Keywords: destructive energies, revelation, rite of passage

​

Creativity, Caring ... And Onto The Stage

gertrude fester-wicomb

Abstract

Reflecting on my feminist, anti-apartheid activist life in South Africa, until today, i describe moments which illustrate how laughter, being in awe of the natural beauty around me, playfulness, creativity and caring help me to dance through the darkest times. In ‘the great unravelling’, embodied movement, growing awareness of the magic of my body, poetry, being on stage, eating healthily and balancing this with creativity, singing and dancing, allow hope to persist.

Keywords: activism, singing, survival

​

Reclaiming Labels: Creative Defiance Through Printmaking

Nic Dickson

Abstract

This paper explores the feminist resistance of young women--childhood sexual abuse and homelessness survivors—through printmaking and creation of a zine, transforming derogatory labels into symbols of defiance, challenging stigma and asserting resilience. The resulting zine is a creative and political statement, questioning societal expectations and celebrating the strength of marginalised voices.

Keywords: feminist resistance, empowerment, printmaking

​

Responding to the "Great Unravelling" through Composeher, a Feminist Music Intervention

Bonnie Slade

Abstract

The action by the Composeher project of the Glasgow School of Art is a powerful, creative response to deaths of migrants trying to enter the UK. The Choir commissioned seven female composers to create new choral pieces, one of which was a tribute to the children who had drowned in the Mediterranean Sea. Composeher is responding to the Great Unravelling with joyful, playful defiance.

Keywords: migrants, feminists, choir, music

​

Teaching and Learning through Play

Mary Hames

Abstract

The play Reclaiming the P… Word, written and performed by female staff and students, talks back to female body violence and is an example of embodied feminist pedagogy beyond the classroom. Through my years of drama work, I’ve learned how feminist transformation occurs when women truly personalise and embody the political.

Keywords: feminist pedagogy, violence against women, drama production/performance

​

Porosity in Translation for Different Women: Living Métissage as Practice as Research

Gaia Del Negro and Silvia Luraschi

Abstract

In this article two feminist Adult Educators reflect on what they learned around translation as a vital process characterizing their daily lives, a strategy to become more daring knowers in relation to others and the world, as well as more caring beings in between the lands where they pass.

Keywords: translation, practice, identity, women

​

​

The Great Unravelling – in Defence of Laughter

Astrid von Kotze

Abstract

This text considers dancing as defiance and rebellion, in the face of catastrophe, acknowledging the necessity of creating meaning in a world that appears senseless. Drawing inspiration from existentialist writers, the text suggests that radical popular education has roots in existentialist ethics. Collective laughter and dancing are energy-giving, inspiring solidarity.

Keywords: existentialism, dancing, laughter

​

​​​​

Welcome New PIMA Member

​​​​

​

​