When Worlds Collide
Encouraging you to Eschew George Costanza's "Worlds Theory". Instead, Mix Up Your Networks and Let The Creative Sparks Fly!
In 1995, Seinfeld’s Episode 8: “Pool Guy” introduces George Costanza’s “Worlds Theory.” Early on, Kramer warns of a cosmic implosion should Elaine and Susan, George’s girlfriend, meet. Throughout the episode, George becomes increasingly agitated, imploring his friends to protect his “Worlds Theory” that the various worlds inhabited by different Georges - namely, “relationship George” and “independent George” - must never meet nor mix. Otherwise, KABOOM! Inevitably, the two women meet and George exclaims in great distress: “Worlds are colliding!” Ever since that episode aired, the phrases “Worlds Collide!”, “You’re Killing Independent George!”, and “Everybody knows, you gotta keep your worlds apart!” became a satirical caution against allowing different groups in your social life to meet, mix, and connect.
As much as I love this episode (and implore you to watch at least the highlights below), I highly recommend not subscribing to George’s “worlds theory.”
On June 1st, I let my worlds collide and the result was a spectacular Supernova of connection and meaning. Here’s my story…
Still groggy at 5:30 am Saturday morning, I logged into Zoom. In an instant, I was transported directly into the hustle and bustle of a room full of artists getting ready for an online art expo at the Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda. They had been there for several hours already getting the camera and sound set up. There before me for the first time, was a bright and clear picture of Merci.
We had been planning this event for just a month. It was the brainchild of the youngest among us,
. Originally, the suggestion was that we do an event and that I be the main speaker. I quickly convinced them I had nothing interesting to say and that the artists should be the main attraction. And, so, we went with it. It sounded fun, engaging, and exciting. Everyone would want to come, right? We didn’t really think about what it would cost, what it would take, or how we would get it done.And, so, with just four weeks to go, I created the event flyer, set up an EventBrite and started promoting the Nakivale Young Artists Exhibition. My co-organizer Akon started sending me artist bios and pictures. My other co-organizer Elijah Astute went on the hunt for technology and planned (and executed superbly!) a presentation skills training for the artists. My job was to get as many people from around the world (who were awake and available at 9 am Eastern Standard Time) to join us. Surely that would be 100 people, right?
Our goal was completely aspirational: to showcase to the world how expressive, inspiring, and gut-wrenchingly honest, haunting, and beautiful the art of Nakivale is and specifically the art of these hand-picked 10 young refugee artists from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.
Over the four weeks - from idea genesis to idea execution - our featured artists would ultimately trudge three times (each time was a dusty and hot 3 hour roundtrip walk) to the BioGreen Education Center, once to learn about and practice their “elevator speech,” once to practice presenting in front of a camera, and the final time for the actual event.
And, just like that, at 9 am on June 1st, my worlds collided.
On June 1st, after we tested the tech from 6 am to 7 am, I took a deep breath, ate breakfast, and worked on my opening remarks. Then, at 8:30 am, I returned to the Zoom room. At 9, the worlds collided. “Art activist for Nakivale refugees” Emily collided with “Local Art” Emily who collided with “College” Emily who collided with “Work” Emily and of course "my mom’s Emily”.
Into the Zoom room, which was already full of young artists over 8,000 miles away, walked (virtually) people from disparate and very separate parts of my life geographically, socially and even temporally:
a friend from college
my mother
an artist I met at a Zentangle workshop a year ago
a donor and supporter from Mexico
two of my coworkers
two artists who live locally in my town
and the leader of an African Permaculture Support group on FaceBook.
I pressed “Stream Live to FaceBook” and then more worlds collided. All of a sudden friends from Malawi, Kenya, and Uganda started to watch, leaving comments of support. How did it feel? Exciting! Nerve-wracking. Explosive! Worlds were indeed colliding.
Certainly I had hoped that there would be more participants. But, many people had purchased tickets in support although unable to attend. And, still more people after the event - friends from other worlds of mine - asked how it went, expressed their support, and asked to be notified of “the next time.”
At the time and in retrospect, I was and am content. We were, for the first time, live streaming an event out of a very challenging environment. A place where the power can be turned off or go out without notice. A place where internet data bundles needed for a 2-hour livestream are cost prohibitive and access to simple technology like laptops, cameras, and projectors is limited.
I was content because we had worked together and gave it our all to give voice to 10 young artists who were eager and anxious to tell their stories and show their work.
It certainly helped to know that - as is the case with anything recorded and uploaded to the internet - this 2-hour recorded and streamed event would live on the worldwide web long into the future.
Later that afternoon, after the event, I went on an art walk with my town’s local arts group and then visited friends at an artist studio open house and a student art show. Wherever I went, people knew it was a special day, it was the day of the “Nakivale Arts Event”. While the worlds didn’t literally collide later that afternoon, knowing that my local art world, my international East African permaculture and art world, my friends world, and my family world were all now aware of one another brought me immense satisfaction.
By the end of the day, I actually felt a whole lot wholer than I had in a long time. It was as if the circles of my own personal Venn diagram had come closer and closer together to the point that they were almost the same circle. Of course they weren’t, but I wasn’t going to doubt or question or dispell such a lovely feeling from such a magical day.
Entire two-hour event!
You can watch the entire event here. Skim through, find the art you like, and comment. I would love to hear what captured your attention!
Highlight Reel
While we wait for our videographer to edit this raw video down to a more manageable size, you can also enjoy this short video put together after the event by one of our co-hosts.
Reflections
Here’s what I learned from preparing and organizing this event, marketing it, facilitating and co-hosting it:
Invite, Invite, Invite: While targeting an event to the right audience is important, think big. In this case, I invited not only artists, but I invited teachers, cultural organizations, people interested in fashion, permaculture and international business.
Let People Choose For Themselves: People can’t attend your event or gathering if you don’t let them make the choice themselves. Early on, I found myself prejudging or trying to guess whether a certain person might be interested in my event. I soon realized that by doing so, I was cutting off possible worlds for the artists to connect with.
Look for the Overlapping Circles: this is in the same vein as the first bullet above, about inviting outside of your usual circle and thinking big. But, it’s different. I intentionally reached out to as many people as possible who were in the arts world or interested in supporting Africa. I reached out to art departments at universities, museums and galleries that feature African art, and artists in the Boston community and internationally who had a presence on social media.
Do It Even Though Someone Else Could Do It Better: This sounds obvious but for those of us who are afraid to fail, it’s worth the reminder. I used to be a perfectionist. It would keep from doing things. Now, maybe because I’m 50 (cue Sally O’Malley!), I do what I’m passionate about even thought I know someone could do it a hell of a lot better.
Eschew George Costanzo’s World Theory. Let your worlds collide! Organize, convene and host whatever it is you are passionate about until someone else comes along who has larger networks, more resources, more influence, who can execute better… and then stay along for the ride! Because you earned it! This way you get the best of both worlds: the thing you love comes into being whereas it might never have. It now has a greater chance of growing, going out into the world, and having a life of its own.
What’s Next
Now that the event has come and gone and we wait for an edited video, what is next? The pursuit of resources for paint, canvasses, palette knives, and brushes continues. The Nakivale artists we showcased create individually but they resource collectively. A box of 5 paints (primary colors, black and white) is $45 per box and could last the group a few weeks. But, 4 or 5 boxes of paint costs $40 per box and could last the group 2 to 3 months allowing them to grow their portfolio of completed works from an average of 3-4 per artist to 10!
You Can Help
I’ve left the Virtual Tip Jar up from our event. Should you like to support the artists, please consider giving them a tip. Or you can see their art and purchase merchandise through a RedBubble site I set up for them. Any little bit helps. I manage the funds and when we hit $250 (as of this writing we are at $135), we’ll have enough funds for supplies.
If you like this content…
I’m going to take my own advice, and “Invite, Invite, Invite…” Consider subscribing to my new Substack called “RainMakers & ChangeMakers” where I am letting more worlds collide. Through art and storytelling, I hope (again, aspirational goal!) to lift up the stories of East African permaculture activitists, artists, and other ChangeMakers. I invite you to read my first “digest” of posts, featuring fourr inspiring permaculture activists.
Thank you for reading, supporting, and commenting!
I would love to hear about your worlds colliding. When was the last time you brought different groups and networks together that have only YOU in common? And, what happened?
Wonderful work Emily xxxx