FoAM project criteria
If you are thinking of starting a project at FoAM, here's a list of questions to ask yourself…
Your motivation
Are you personally committed to initiating, engaging in and realising this project?
Are you keen to collaborate with other people in one or more of the FoAM studios?
How would this project benefit from being part of the FoAM network?
Why should this project be developed by “a lab connecting art, science, nature and everyday life”?
How does the project connect to FoAM's motto “grow your own worlds”?
Research Streams
How does your project contribute to one or more of the following research streams:
environment: climate change, climate futures, environmental literacy, eco-technologies, panpsychism…?
culture and society: social development, social inequality, (organisational) transitions, futures literacy, uncertainty…?
experience: embodiment, experiential learning, experience design, rituals and celebrations, poethics…?
Principles
Can you answer YES to more than one of these questions - the more positive answers you get, the more 'foamy' the project is likely to be:
does it develop, support or engage different modes of inquiry (e.g. theoretical research, creative practice, participatory experiences…)? if it has a single mode of inquiry, is it complementary with other FoAM projects or practices?
does it approach complex issues from different perspectives?
does it encourage 'unholy alliances' (connections between unexpected fields, cultures and worldviews)?
can it function as a connector, or a 'trojan horse' - between disciplines, people, philosophies…?
will it engage people from a field that is unknown to you and/or FoAM?
does it have a (pseudo)scientific or technological element?
is it playful?
does it foster speculative culture?
will it provide a pause, a fresh breath, an opening, a moment of stillness in people's lives?
does it encourage participation?
does it include moments of reflection?
does it create a world - a total or complete, synaesthetic experience?
does it focus on whole lifecycle and has a holistic worldview?
Not a FoAM project
If the answer is YES to any of the following questions, the project could not be considered by FoAM without substantial changes:
is it one dimensional (i.e. is it dealing with a single issue, using a single approach, by a single individual)?
is it wasteful (in terms of human & electrical energy, waste products, time…)?
is it unsustainable (environmentally, socially, culturally)?
does it focus on producing an artefact for its own sake (without taking the whole lifecycle of the artefact into account)?
is it one-directional (i.e. is it 'for' people instead of 'with' people)?
does it require a big, expensive production to produce a temporary result (e.g. a large installation on a 2 day festival)?
does it separate thinkers from makers?
does it treat scientists & technologists as technicians, artists & designers as 'prettifiers', or crafts and trade's people as mere 'manual labour'?
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