O.A.S.E.S : Our Art Science Experimental Seminars.
Over the years, the watering Hole has taken several forms and extensions. However, core to all Watering Hole formats has been the propagation of the 3C’s :
- Conversation,
- Collaboration and
- Creation.
Traditionally, the seminar has consisted of participants in a room full of snacks, a white board , projector, and 2-4 guest speakers per session. In these sessions there were introductions, presentations, discussions where odd connections were made between each presented topic, and feedback from participants.
The first extension of watering hole has been the Salon. Inspired by the Salons in Italy and France in the 1700-1800, the salon would be where the watering hole migrated to get even more casual- as in intellectual conversations, social connections, wine glasses and home cooked tapas- type casual.
During the later days of the Pandemic, the watering Hole took on the poetic style. In attempts to fuse the classic Open Mic poetry and music scene, with the old school Watering hole seminar; the Virtual Watering Hole Open Mic was born. Sometimes it took form of a writing workshop or a poetic analysis session, and other times it was more of a freestyle conversation with no designated guest speaker. During this period, the session held 4-6 people each time.
Finally the Watering Hole shifted to a Hybrid format with some participants on the screen and others physically present in the lab. With this hybrid twist, the Watering Hole reverted back to its initial format of guest speaker presentation and discussion. The only difference being it held mostly one guest speaker per session.
It was recently, in the Post Pandemic ArtSci Lab, that Roger Malina, The lab director and Mahmoud Elkarmalawy the lab coordinator come up with the brilliant new name for the Watering Hole – O.A.S.E.S . This new seminar identity officially opens the door to the endless possibilities of experimenting with the seminar and our collective gathering of consciousness.
Who can design and experimental seminar? Well . Anyone, any group of ones or everyone together. That’s the whole idea of collaborating and involving our collective intelligence.
There are some things that would be important to keep in mind in future experimental seminars. One this is the types of moderation and experimenting with moderator roles and purposes during the session. Another is the potential for collecting valuable research data, and designing purposeful experiments keeping in minding International Regulatory Board procedures . Furthermore is the necessity to have all participants sign release forms, and finding a reliable means to distribute these forms as is necessary for any publication of content recorded during the O.A.S.E.S sessions.
All in all, the future is looking bright, ‘well dated‘ and refreshing for the O.A.S.E.S.
And just another fun fact for our new Identity: If the watering Hole was where animals drank peacefully, the OASES is where the warring desert tribes had to drop down their weapons and enter into a peace zone as narrated in the story ‘The Alchemist ’ by Paolo Coelho. Perhaps at this new oasis, all our trained and isolated minds will evolve in collaboration and in the harmonious expression of ourselves.
Upcoming at the O.A.S.E.S
- July 8th: Emeka Ikebude and Ayen Kuol
- July 15th :Jacob Hunwick: Maintanence, repair and the illusion of Infinite growth
- July 22nd: Karen Doore