Sometimes the fire gathers (#1 The Skies – Congress Art – Science, National University of San Martín)
Collective Action. Campfire, land management, and collaborative storytelling from a specific community.
This action took place at the campus of the National University of San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2019.
Fire, when gathered, involves preparing a campfire with participants from a specific community that includes storytellers or collaborative narrators. Once gathered around the fire, participants are invited to let their imaginations run wild while being hypnotised by the choreography of the flames or the sudden brightness of the sparks. Each participant takes a turn telling stories. During this event, whose theme for the congress was “The Skies,” I invited participants to imagine new stories about the sky. They wondered what sounds, smells, and tastes corresponded to each representation of the sky, as well as what other names could be given to it. In this piece, I wanted to explore the affective relationship between humans and the sky through imagination. We played with storytellers telling stories of Argentine tribes. Vinciane Despret says, “to imagine is to take things seriously,” and storytelling is a political way of doing so. This action can be repeated by anyone, anywhere.