Community in Bloom is a workshop organized and hosted by Stephanie Wu and Nina Jun Yuchi in response and critique to the design industry and its relationship with politics. A garden can only bloom if its needs are met—with water, sunlight, nutrients—but most importantly, collective care. Only then can a garden provide the abundance of its crop and fruits. Our workshop critiques the increasingly individualistic art & design culture and to create a space of collective care vital for our growth and healing, not only as designers but as also people. Abolition means razing systemic oppression while simultaneously working towards a world where we can all thrive. Abolitionist praxis can manifest through building community and mutual aid so we aim to create room for it to exist within design spaces.

The event was built to emphasize creating together and recognizing what we have to offer. Design is not an isolated process but it’s often viewed as such. Acknowledging the labor and love that is required from all of our peers, from digital designers to print publishers to material fabricators, we hope to impart the participants with a more holistic view of what design and community can be. 

How can we care for each other as artists, designers, and beyond? How can we restructure digital tools used for corporate design into community design?

Past workshops
︎︎︎Sunday, May 16 2021 at RISD
︎︎︎Saturday, September 18 at POWRPLNT
︎︎︎Saturday, September 25 at POWRPLNT

Downloads
Pixel flowers︎︎︎ Lecture slides︎︎︎ Figma template︎︎︎ Zoom recordings︎︎︎

Introduction
We used a Figma tutorial to get participants acquainted with the software while answering ice breaker questions to introduce themselves. This then allowed everyone to get on the same page with technical skills, leaving them equipped to explore the program’s other design tools and navigate the virtual space. The lecture portion explained our intentions for this workshop and our thoughts about resistance, community, and critique within the design industry. 

Key Questions
How can we care for each other as artists, designers, and beyond?
How can we subvert, infiltrate, or appropriate corporate platforms for abolition and mutual aid instead?
How can we reconcile social and political responsibility with our critiques about design?

Asset Mapping
Taking the metaphor of community as a garden, we invited each person to plant a flower in our garden bed with a skill (doesn’t have to be art or design related) they can offer. It’s important to acknowledge that the skills we offer are not limited to artistic practice and other skills are just as valuable. Why do we not consider reading of the same importance as typesetting? Consider what commercial, physical, emotional benefits each holds.

Making
After designing on Figma, the instructors and organizers printed copies of the creations as tiles. These tiles were versatile and able to be assembled in any form including a quilt, book, or installation. They not only served as a tangible reminder of the workshop that largely exists only, but the content also served as reference for readings, links, contact information, and design inspiration.

Playground
Throughout the workshop, we gave space for participants to explore the Figma on their own and add content unrelated to the activities. The playground had everything from memes to drawings. Even though the entire Figma workspace was open to these things, it was meaningful to dedicate a space for play, giving it as much importance as the other activities.