Training for Transformation – A Proposition to Connect

Workshop with Teresa Palmieri at Design by Disaster Conference 2026 at BASIS, Vinschau-Venosta

Workshop description:

Building on our own experience in institutionalised design education we propose to refocus on a basic but essential aspect of transformative teaching/learning and of our social fabric in general: connection. Especially in times of polarisation and divisiveness there is a need to (re)connect, to build networks of solidarity not just with your fellow design practitioners but also with your surrounding communities. We see the same need in institutionalised design education where caring for/maintaining/nurturing connection is not always made easy due to its neoliberal-capitalist framework.
In order to connect we need to stay open to the unfamiliar, curious without judgement, interested in different opinions and welcoming of pluriversal ways of life. Staying/Being connected is a social activity – like a muscle that needs to be continuously trained.
When was the last time you had a longer conversation with a stranger? You might have more in common than you think or maybe not but isn’t it worth the try? One thing is for sure: we need everyone on board for transformation towards more eco social and just presents and futures.
Guided by the search for connection and ways of connecting, we will explore essential aspects of connecting – interpersonal, physical, intellectual, collective & transcendent – through a performative workshop. We invite participants to train their social muscles with all that comes with it: joy, awkwardness, overload, laughter, generosity, …

In the workshop, we share exercises that we used, experiences and recontextualised in our teaching practices inspired by other educators, students, artists, designers, creative practitioners and other inspiring beings. We mix them, connect and reinvent them to hold a space for exploring ways of connecting in the educational environment and beyond.

Inspired by the concept of Social Muscle Club created by the artists Jill Emerson and Till Rothmund and the “You Already Have What You Need” exercise by the BFAMFAPhD* collective and Paul Steinmann’s “Napkin Folds to Wow Your Guests” prompt, this workshop is flexing the social muscles/ connections that influence our practice.