Exodus is a resource-base dedicated to nurturing transformative practices and creative growth.
Vision:
The vision for this project is to be a time-based project and event that sparks a collective repositioning of how we navigate the arts, the roles we carve out for artists, and how we educate and organize. Our vision is to create a dynamic space where innovative practices can flourish, fostering a community dedicated to holistic and equitable development.
ABOUT
Exodus School of Expression is a project that centers the development of offerings that foster holistic and innovative ways of framing practice. At Exodus, we believe that practice is more than just a method—it's an incubator where self-actualization, speculation, spiritualism, wholism, and reflection thrive. We also uplift artists as mediators meaning moving with the sentiment that artistry is a vital form of media.
Approaches are grounded in creating an environment that encourages personal and collective growth, enabling participants to explore and expand their creative and organizational capacities.
Exodus by definition speaks to a large event. On a project basis this idea of an event becomes both a framework and the spirit for this project’s life cycle. Exodus is a conduit not an organization. This speaks to a larger desire to develop without institutionalizing.
SEED SUMMER RESIDENCY
In the summer of 2021, the Seed Summer Residency was a time for seven visionary residents and five passionate educators to gather in Richmond, VA.
We felt the sun's warmth and the earth's embrace as we connected deeply with each other and with the wisdom of our ancestors.
Artists in Residence:
- Ayana Zaire Cotton
- Isabelle Roque
- Justin Smith
- Sam Page
- Curly Dacs
- Joy McMillian
- Linda Zeb Hang
Guest Workshop Facilitators:
- Chino Amobi
-
Devin Cuthbertson,
-
Justin Smith
- Ricky Weaver
Read Excerpt from, Seed to Summer: An Archive & Reflection & View Image Gallery Here
HISTORY
Exodus was founded in response to grieving the lack of space, active barriers, and systematic threats in Academia that prevent BIPOC educators & students from self-actualization. Self-actualization can be understood as the realization of one's talent. Exodus uplifts many things that are umbrellaed under a desire to make space for community members to self-actualize.
In Exodus, we define self-actualization as the continued expansion of one's sense of self and purpose concerning their community. It is a process that allows artists, arts organizers, and educators to develop an in-depth understanding of selfhood in relation to community, collective legacies, and practice.
Rooting in understanding self & one's unique expression is essential to sustaining traditional and untraditional practices. It's an act of charting, locating, and naming the magic and purpose in practice.
Throughout the development of Exodus, this quote from Bell Hooks, Communion: The Female Search for Love, played a pivotal role in understanding the importance of selfhood in practice.
"Searching for love, I found the path to freedom. Learning how to be free was the first step in learning to know love."
- Bell Hooks
It gives expression to the role of selfhood in the quest for freedom. We hope that the most expansive forms of love will find a home in this project and that our offerings help participants find deeper understandings of self.
CORE CURRICULUM:
Designed to create an accessible starting point for anyone interested in developing a practice. The core curriculum does not use academic language and focuses on holistic practices and practice as a road to self-actualization.
Continued Vision:
- Reciprocity between Educators & Students
- Neurodiversity & Accessibility in education & community settings
- Expansive understanding of what an Educator can be: in community, in Academia, in passing
- The intersection of lived experience, community understanding, and critical thinking as a source
- Holistic Understanding of Practice as it relates to selfhood and the world
- Experimental forms of research and support for research-based practices
- Understanding sometimes the work is rest, connecting with a community, play, laughter, heady conversations, etc. - and the result does not always culminate in a physical manifestation or artifact of the process
Offerings:
Since the Seed Summer Residency, I have taken considerable time to explore without boundaries. The question of what Exodus is—and what it can become—has led me to experiment with various forms of asynchronous education. One phrase that emerged during the development of Exodus is:
Small Exits Produce Exodus.
From an organizational standpoint, this has focused the exploration around accessibility, deinstitutionalization, and the reframing of what a classroom can be. These offerings grew from that exploration. Recently, Exodus has entered a phase of integrating all of these elements to form the first segment of its core pedagogy, along with a longer body of writing. As the finalization of this writing takes place, this resource base is something you are invited to engage with.
Small Exits Podcast
Ep 1: Modes of Reflection
Dive deep into the exploration of reflection as a mode of practice. In this episode, we ground ourselves into the cyclical nature of practice, envisioning it as a journey that starts from a single point and expands, gathering new understanding along the way.
Ep 2: Practice Exiting
The practice of Exiting challenges the conventional notion of labor and introduce the concept of "work" as an expression rooted in free will and individual desires. By creating space for play, self-actualization, and deeper relationships with materials, we move forward collectively charting new cultures and ways of being in relation to art.
Ep 3: Gardens of Grief
Delve into the profound connections between personal processing, creative embodiment, and the transformative power of grief. Through intimate reflections, prompts, and insightful conversations, we uncover the ways in which grief not only recalibrate our sense of self but also enriches our artistic journey. Discover how cultivating intentional spaces for grief within your practice can lead to deeper connections and self-understanding.
Downloadable Excercises:
Charting: Lineages of Symbolism
Find Here
With an emphasis on reflection and experimentation, this exercise invites you to pause and ground your intentions before delving into action. Free yourself from external pressures and immerse yourself in a period of profound self-discovery and exploration. Set your affirmation or mantra, aligning it with the current state of your practice, and embark on a transformative experience.
What are we Exiting?
Small Exits Ep 2. Extended
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Find Here
In the initial episode, I introduced the essence of exiting, defined its significance, and shared a prompt to unlock this mode within your practice. Now, let's take the journey even further.
In this extended episode, we explore the pivotal question: What are we truly Exiting? 🚀 I delve into the captivating world of N.K. Jemisin's short story, "The Ones that Stay and Fight," one of my favorite authors' works.
Charting: Paths to Intuition
Find Here
If you're seeking to reignite your connection with the joy of creation, this resource is your guiding light. It's tailored both for those who grapple with allowing intuition to lead their creative process and for those eager to rediscover the pleasure inherent in their artistic pursuits. By carving out a sanctuary within your artistic journey—one free from the constraints of productivity, finality, and labor—this resource paves the way for exhilarating creative explorations and acts as your first step towards a establishing a practice of Exiting.
Writing
Collective Dreams
Read Here
Commune is an initiative that came to an end after the realization that it was time to enter a season a pause & writing.
Though it didn’t come fruition I offer this as insight and a potential framework to explore.
Transfigured Oracle Deck of Change
