The Art of Gathering Offline & Online

I really enjoyed this lecture and the insight it gave into unique online gatherings that don't feel as dreary and overdone as a Zoom call. In particular, I thought the segment done by Ritu Ghiya was really well done and felt very authentic. Even the recording of the video, just a screengrab of her whole screen with the Facetime window open so we could see her, felt real and personal - perhaps because we got insight into her call history and other open windows. I liked that she talked a lot about mourning real spaces and how she used that grief to motivate her work.

Her translating real spaces into a digital format reminds me of my own Series project where I did just that on the homepage. I think her works will be very helpful as I construct my own virtual gathering. I've been rather drawn to the idea of doing my gathering on gather.towns. While I haven't had the best experience with it in the past (it's not a conducive environment for computer science office hours), I do think it could serve as a great way to gather while still drawing on the idea of inviting people to my home, something I tried to accomplish with my website.

On Gathering

I was honestly a bit surprised to see the connections that Mindy Seu drew between gathering as a means to survive (i.e. in the ways of hunter-gatherers) and gathering as a community. Maybe I shouldn't be, after all, human interaction is essential to our mental health and well being. But I'd never thought of the role of a host as the role of a gatherer, a collector of people and goods. It makes sense when I think more about it, a gathering is just an opportunity to share with each other, be it stories or conversation or experiences. I think she puts it very. eloquently with the line "It is the tender and thoughtful collection of goods for your kin, and a moment for reunion, for celebration, and for introspection around those goods."

Translating these moments to online is tricky, especially when people are muted and hesitant to participate. I know I struggle with speaking up on Zooms, and even being fully in the moment as I stare at myself in the tiny box making sure that I look focused and interested rather than actually being either of those things. Seu is correct in saying that we have to learn new skills in order to communicate on these online platforms, but even after a year I am reluctant to do so, longing for a return to in-person gatherings. Hopefully, that day is soon.