Somatics in Action
BODY IQ FESTIVAL
BODY IQ FESTIVAL is a festival that celebrates ourselves as living, pulsating and communicating bodies. Without embodiment there is no experience - without experience there is no foundation for intelligence AND cultural evolution.
BODY IQ FESTIVAL offers a platform to generate impulses to access the knowledge, wisdom and potential of the conscious human form in communication and action.
BODY IQ FESTIVAL was initiated by Kai Ehrhardt and the Somatische Akademie Berlin in dialogue with international partners in 2015. BODY IQ Festival has defined itself as a unique forum for the exchange and development of new practice models that examine the democratisation of body-pedagogical, therapeutic and artistic processes and their dissemination into the social sphere.
Body IQ 2021: Bodies of Cultures, Communities & Places
Vision
The BODY IQ 2021 Festival 'Bodies of Cultures, Communities & Places' explores themes of cultural diversity, social justice and inclusion, and questions of being human in the context of environmental crises.
Somatics: Expanded & Critical Practice
Somatic practices traditionally are concerned with the experience of a sensing and perceptive lived body, aim to address the personal development of individuals, and are applied in therapeutic, educational & artistic contexts.
Body IQ Festival responds to developments in the somatic field which are defined as critical & culturally transformative practices. It asks how somatic practice, mediation and theory can face a world of crisis in innovative and transformative ways.
Body IQ Festival recognises the need for a meaningful transformation of increasingly digitalised cultural communities in a pandemic & post-pandemic world. The festival focuses on discourses & practices that have moved beyond traditional Euro-centric & 'ability' contexts and which consider diversity of ethnicity, gender, abilities and class. It aims to address issues of embodiment in the context of global-ethical, socio-ecological crises & change.
Here, themes of social plurality, migration, anti-racism & trans/queer work, intercultural exchange, ecology & social justice are foregrounded.
BODY IQ FESTIVAL 2021 Curators
BODY IQ FESTIVAL 2021 is curated by Angela Guerreiro, Kai Ehrhardt, Mäks Roßmöller and Thomas Kampe. The team of curators brings together its diverse backgrounds, histories, skills, vision and sensibilities.
Safe Space
As we are entering together a new quality of space and interaction, we invite everyone to orient themselves and their actions in line with the agreements for multicultural communication set out by the East Bay Meditation Center:
Try It On:
Be willing to “try on” new ideas, or ways of doing things that might not be what you prefer or are familiar with.
Practice Self Focus:
Attend to and speak about your own experiences and responses. Do not speak for a whole group or express assumptions about the experience of others.
Understand The Difference Between Intent & Impact:
Try to understand and acknowledge impact. Denying the impact of something said by focusing on intent is often more destructive than the initial interaction.
Practice “Both / And”:
When speaking, substitute “and” for “but”. This practice acknowledges and honors multiple realities.
Refrain From Blaming or Shaming Self & Others:
Practice Giving Skillful Feedback.
Move Up / Move Back:
Encourage full participation by all present. Take note of who is speaking and
who is not. If you tend to speak often, consider “moving back” and vice versa.
Practice Mindful Listening:
Try to avoid planning what you’ll say as you listen to others. Be willing to
be surprised, to learn something new. Listen with your whole self.
Confidentiality:
Take home learnings, but don’t identify anyone other than yourself, now or later. If
you want to follow up with anyone regarding something they said during a session, ask first and respect their wishes.
Right to Pass:
You can say “I pass” if you don’t wish to speak.
(https://eastbaymeditation.org/2017/05/agreements-for-multicultural-interactions)