PROJECT FOCUS: COSMOLOGYSCAPE
Suzanne Kite (Oglála Lakȟóta) & Alishia B. Wormsley
A collaborative project of Suzanne Kite & Alishia B. Wormsley for New York City that is the result of workshops led by the two artists with other Black and Indigenous people engaged in dreamwork -- the exploration of dreams.
Using an Indigenous Artificial Intelligence (AI) framework conceived by Kite, the artists translate dreams into symbols that are used to create public earth sculptures that invite people to rest. The dreams they translate come from participants in the Black and Indigenous Dream Workshops and from the online 'dream site' they created with a commission from CREATIVE TIME.
Flowers, a cosmic quilt patch from Cosmologyscape, a project by Suzanne Kite and Alisha B. Wormsley.
Prepare
Explore the Cosmologyscape website.
- Click on the squares in what Kite & Wormsley call the ‘cosmic quilt’ of their dreams.
- These squares are the twenty-six Black and Lakȟóta symbols created by the artists. They are sent back to dream-donors in sequences that depend on the way the dream is narrativized by the dreamer for submission to the website.
- Click the play button on each symbol and read through the ‘Symbols Key’. Each symbol is associated with a tea recipe that can be prepared by the participant-dreamer.
- Which is your favorite symbol? Why? Share with a friend or classmates in small groups.
Not My Future, a cosmic quilt patch from Cosmologyscape, a project by Suzanne Kite and Alisha B. Wormsley.
Activity
After this initial exploration of the website, explore the project’s Data Governance plan.
- Click on the white menu button in the top left of the Cosmologyscape landing page, and select ‘About the Project’.
- Scroll down to ‘Additional Links’ for the grey ‘Data Governance’ button.
- With a friend or with classmates in small groups, identify the different sections of the plan. Look closely at the following three parts of the plan:
- the first paragraph
- the section 'Plans for Use at Data Collection'
- the section 'How Can This Information Be Accessed, Shared and Re-Used?'
Take notes on your reactions to these three different parts of the plan and discuss.
New Life, a cosmic quilt patch from Cosmologyscape, a project by Suzanne Kite and Alisha B. Wormsley.
Reflection
Take ten to fifteen minutes to write about one of your dreams in the Cosmologyscape website by clicking ‘Contribute your dreams’ in the dropdown menu that opens when you click the white menu button.
- Remember: You should only share a dream if you are comfortable doing so.
- If you prefer not to share a dream, explore the ‘Dream Paths’ provided by the interdisciplinary group of artists, writers, musicians and dreamers who collaborated with Kite and Wormsley by clicking on that option in the dropdown menu.
- Be considerate l to those around you. Some of the dream paths feature Youtube videos or sound files that you will have to use headphones to hear if you are in a classroom or a public space. You can put Youtube videos on closed captioning (CC) to follow without sound, but be aware that closed captioning is not always accurate.