The Inquirers

We at D.epicentre have been working on skills, competencies and capabilities, especially in the context of the “VUCA” future for the last few years. While we’ve focused on the youth we have also been exploring how to make people “Future Conscious” in this process.

On the occasion of World Youth Skills Day, we at D.epicentre wanted to explore the inquiries that youth have about “Future Skills” in the context of the Creative Economy.

(Please refer to http://www.ilo.org/employment/Whatwedo/Eventsandmeetings/WCMS_803263/lang--en/index.htm)

This is a gathering to collectively reveal the contexts of the Future of the Creative Economy and the role of a cultural practitioner in the “VUCA” context of the pandemic. Sudebi and Probal are designing and facilitating a bunch of young “inquirers” through the journey of “What Is — What Might — What If” as a part of the Mini Meeting Point 2021.

This programme is a part of “Revealing Contexts: a Meeting Point on Art & Social Action in Asia”, organized by Mekong Cultural Hub and supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation , Asia Centre Japan Foundation, Ministry of Culture Taiwan and partnered by Asia Arts Management and Arts Equator . The larger theme of the Mini Meeting Point is “The Cultural Worker in a Time of Social Change: a Meeting Point on Art & Social Action in Asia”.

Please check https://thearchivalcity.medium.com/what-is-what-might-what-if-ab195348e981 to know more about “What Is- What Might- What If” and https://www.mekongculturalhub.org/mini-meeting-point-2021/ to know more about Meeting Point 2021.

This initiative is a part of D.epicentre’s larger initiative on “Future Literacy”, “Future Fluency”, “Future Competency” and “Future Consciousness” that has been progressing since 2019.

Introducing ‘The Inquirers’

Name : Nidhi Muktikar
Pronouns: she/her
Age: 20
A student of Business Services and System Design

With just a year left to graduate, some part of me is overwhelmed with the thought of entering the so-called “industry”. Do I have the relevant skills and competencies to find my place in the already populated industry? The whole idea of getting out of this bubble of the university and entering the real world seems overwhelming at times. How do I adapt to the ever-changing constraints of the creative industry I belong to? In these times, adapting to the changes around us is all the more imperative to sustain. Be it on a personal level to have an adaptable mindset; or at a systemic level to rethink rigid systems structures or even ways or processes in the industry. My inquiry revolves around how do I place myself in the industry and thrive in it in the coming future.

What is the situational need for adaptation in our creative industries? Can this need be investigated and intervened for longevity? What might be the future of adaptive creative economies?

Name : Abiraami Rakshana
Pronouns: she/her
Age: 21
A student of Business Services and System Design

I love learning by listening to experiences and stories, and as an aspiring experience designer, I am keen on questioning current practices in design and other related sectors and how products and services that are put out in the world today will have an impact on the foreseeable future. With how the pandemic has disrupted what we used to make of our present and where we saw ourselves in the future, I am constantly beginning to question how I would navigate around these recurring constraints in the creative industry. We’re facing incredibly complex challenges and at the same time, we have a lot of opportunities to consciously evolve how we imagine and co-create our shared future, especially in the creative economy.

How does someone who is aspiring to be a part of the future creative economy develop a mindset to build on future skills in their field? In the overwhelmingly growing complexity of modern living and how interconnected the systems we live within are, how can one effectively navigate through stressful situations in current times while being conscious of its implications in the future?

Name : Ritu Pant
Pronouns: she/ her
Age: 20
A student of Industrial Arts and Design Practices

As a future design practitioner, I find myself constantly having to navigate the trifecta of the industry, the arts and the field of design; the lines between which are often very blurred. In the midst of making sense of this trifecta, the boat of every creative practitioner like myself was turned upside down when the pandemic hit. The winds of change swept through every aspect of our lives leaving us with time to question and reflect on our ways of being and doing. I realized that I belong to a generation that is obsessed with productivity and efficiency; and it goes without saying that I find it hard to slow down or take a break without feeling guilty. This is where my inquiry on the well being of creative practitioners stems from.

How does the generation that is obsessed with ‘big ideas’ come to appreciate the small moments that matter? What practices do we adopt to create an environment that ensures the personal health and wellbeing of every member and overall health of the community and planet? As one of the fastest growing industries, can the creative economy embrace slowness?

Name: Ambika R Menon
Pronouns: she/her
Age: 22
A student of Human-Centered Design

Entering into the present design landscape, I aim to harness the power of design approaches into my everyday decisions. Using tangible and intangible tools to navigate and provide clarity within the complex web I weave for myself. Bringing apparent structure into my movement. I wondered where this obsession for structure stemmed from? How do I instill a balance between the need for structure and the need to break beyond the structure to explore the creative landscape. How do I exercise wearing different hats based on the personal and professional contexts I’m situated within?

How might we respond effectively to the complexity that exists within individual and collective growth? How might we become self-resilient in embracing a culture of care and support?

Name : Gauri Sinari
Pronouns: she/her
Age: 21
A student Industrial Arts and Design Practices

Growing up, I was taught to color only in one direction; In design school, I was introduced to a linear process of research followed by ideation that led me into testing and then repeating the same thing; circular yet going in the same direction. This one directional and linear way of functioning is something that I have now begun to question. How did these unidirectional processes become the norm? Who sets these norms? Who are the standard-bearers of our collective culture? What roles do these norms play in the field of art that is supposed to be all about creativity? Why do these principles need to be followed in our creative discipline, without which our work is either quotidian or inferior or total madness or overtly expressive? Who is recognized as an artist? How then are ‘culture,’ ‘artists’ and ‘development’ defined?

How might we get people in the community building professions to think beyond western institutionalized art when you say the word ‘culture’ or ‘art’? How do we reassess how universities and cultural institutions teach, research, collect and exhibit? As well as draw from the rich legacy of postcolonial, feminist, queer and Marxist perspectives within art history? What are the new theoretical perspectives that are needed to shift paradigms within the creative economy?

Name : Aastha Mehta
Pronouns: she/ her
Age: 21
A student of Contemporary Art Practices

As an aspiring artist, I am curious about questions of personal expression, the freedom and limitations to express, the relation of the artist with a community, and how to navigate through the digital world. There have been ways in which an artist tries to engage with a community- through intervention, collaboration, and interaction. How does the artist intervene? In this contemporary world, art practices are becoming more open and participatory to create dialogue with the audience. As a future practitioner, I want to inquire about the relation between the practitioner and the community, where to position myself in the art world, the kind of values and morals we need to develop to become more aware, ethical and better creative practitioners.

Why is it necessary to recognize the conceptual limitation of the word’s ‘art’ and ‘community’? Where does the practitioner position themselves in the society? Is there a power balance between the art practitioner and the community?

Name :Maitri Kulal
Pronouns: she/her
Age:21
A student of Business Services and System Design

I am a learner who loves to listen to stories told by people, places and spaces.I have always been inclined towards a collaborative design approach and since we are engaging with more people in a single table, how do we nurture different perspectives from different cultures?

How do we create a community that is adaptable and resilient in such a scenario? How do you engage in an interactive collaboration while working on complex topics despite the physical separation?

Name: Vikash Raj
Pronouns: he/his
Age: 24
A student of Design-led Innovation

Growing up, being artistic led me into the field of design. Along this journey I developed the ‘giving nature’; the ability to think of collective good and follow good practices even when no one’s watching is a part of my identity. Although these ideologies help me identify the opportunities I want to work on and prevent me from creating interventions that are unethical, such a mindset is difficult to thrive in the real world of business, economy and profits. Thus, I believe that economic skills are important to survive in a complex and uncertain career that is unfolding everyday which lead me to the following inquiries.

How might we leverage our creative abilities to navigate through business & economy, without falling short on ethics. What would it mean to be creative in the future of automation? How might a community play a role in embedding social justice framework into the future of the economy?

Name: Aneesh Nayak
Pronouns: he/his
Age: 22
A student of Service and Systems Design

Every time I ideate for a project, it makes me wonder if my ideas are original or a subconscious mix of work I have seen on different platforms. In a world where the internet connects us to art and culture from even the remotest parts of the world; how do we make sense of what is original, inspired or stolen?

On connecting ‘inspiration and plagiarism’ to colonial influence, I have come to realize the degree of subjectivity in the field of art and culture. Puzzled by the lack of objectivity, I wonder if moving towards ‘Global standardization’ could be a solution? Or will it lead to another layer of colonization ? My inquiry tries to connect complex themes like plagiarism, decolonization and standardization which are an important part of the future of the global creative economy.

Can we detect the thin line separating inspiration and plagiarism? At what percentage of inspiration does an inspired work turn into plagiarized work? Why is there no standardization in the world of art which makes it difficult to set a price for your original work?

Name: Prabhava Kini
Pronouns: he/his
Age: 21
A student of Visual Communication Design

The situation in the past one year helped me deconstruct the very things we take for granted in our daily lives. The narratives being conveyed to us through various means be it through social media, papers or the news. Our minds are conditioned depending on the contents we consume in our surroundings. I am further interested to ask the question: how does a colonized mind think and innovate when compared to a mind that has unlearned much from its surroundings? What might colonization & decolonization mean in the coming century? While it is unlikely that a certain government might conquer some other part of the world and colonize that land, it can be said with certainty that one of the biggest victims of colonization can be the mind. How does conditioning of the mind in a certain way affect our day to day life & our practices? Be it professional, religious or political. Will the future be able to create an environment where the mind feels free to innovate? The right to freely express, freely move are some of the freedoms we had taken for granted until now. Does a certain level of inspiration from another person’s ideas be also called colonization? What does freedom mean for different individuals, different minds? Does a slave who doesn’t know that he is a slave actually a slave? Why? Is this the result of a conditioned mind?

I would like to connect the concepts of colonization and the conditioning of our mind to think a certain way to the broader idea of freedom. How might freedom change in the coming century? What is freedom? Why freedom?

The Visual Storyteller

Name: Ahana Uppal
Pronouns: she/her
Age: 19
A student of Visual Communication Design

The Facilitators