New Constellations

Charles writes to help us rediscover our relationship with the earth – the relationship which has made us the shape that we are. There is, he says, no seam between us and the wild. His writing and teaching draws on biology, anthropology, theology, archaeology, philosophy, law and travel to probe the questions ‘who or what are we?’ and ‘what on earth are we doing here?’.  

Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud.

Original score by Art School Girlfriend.

Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Aaron helps creative entrepreneurs break free from their past and set out on the journey of life before them. A celebrated social entrepreneur and arts educator, Aaron founded Sphinx to open up the world of classical music to young people of colour and was President Obama’s first nominee to the National Council on the Arts. The world is full of unfulfilled dreams, he says, so you have to put systems in place to achieve your goals. His secret is Star Trek. 

Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud.

Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend.

Additional music is “The American Rhapsody, Symphonic Variations on an African Air, S. Coleridge-Taylor” by Aaron Dworkin and performed with the Sphinx Symphony.

Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Jane is a beautiful woman, light of voice and soul and steely of will and intention. Rod, her partner in love and work, has the magical ability to help young people return to themselves. As educators and storytellers, they work with cycles of nature to enable people to see and experience a deeper sense of self. They encourage people to return to a time there was no time, 14 billion years ago. The cosmic beginning. They work together in Global Generation, the organisation that Jane founded to explore our inner, outer and collective responsibilities to each other and the planet. Among many other things, Global Generation built the extraordinary Story Garden in Kings Cross, giving us a glimmer and a scent of a green urban utopia in the heart of London.

Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud.

Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend. Additional music by Rod Sugden.

Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

adrienne communicates the power of vision. What would it take, she asks, to create a positive vision of the future that becomes our muscle memory; something so powerful that we act on it even when we are under pressure or when we are scared? She works with whatever is necessary to do that - words, pleasure, sci-fi, singing, birthing … to pose the question: “how do we relinquish power so that we can share it?” 

Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud.

Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend.

Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

On a dark night in December 2020, 15 people from across Barrow joined a voyage to discover Barrow’s new stars – Barrow’s New Constellation. This is their story, of the place they love and how the people of Barrow can build a brighter future. 

Made by Jo Barratt with Gemma Mortensen, Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud. 

Music is made for Barrow’s New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend and Tom James Scott.

Sound recordings of Barrow are by Tom James Scott, and students of Furness College.

The wonderful crew who journeyed with us are Andrew Naylor, Beth Kirkby, Dean McSkimmings, Gemma McKell, Jay Zaccarini, John Murphy, Karen Mahaffy, Maddi Nicholson, Martin McLeavy, Natalie Chappels, Sam Plum, Sarah Arun, Sarah Jackson, Sharon Mullen and Tom Lowes.

Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Geoff wonders what makes societies and institutions wise. Everything in our lives, he says, depends on systems beyond us. We depend on them for absolutely everything, our feelings and our thoughts. So what would a political philosophy look like that recognised our dependency on the world around us rather than asserting our sovereignty over it? Having studied as a Buddhist monk, worked in government and led NESTA, Geoff is now a Professor at UCL teaching and writing about the nature of collective intelligence. 

Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud.

Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend. Additional music played by Geoff Mulgan.

Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Rob is a story-harvester, imagineer and sewer of inspiration, who collects and shares the chronicles of communities who have dared to ask ‘What If?’ and dared to do things differently. He lives with a ‘make your own’ spirit, spending time with people who are cracking on and building the future they dream of. A future that will fast be upon us. Things will change very fast, he says; we need to be planning for it.  

Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud. 

Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend.

Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Poppy first saw a dead body at 27 when she decided to set up a funeral directors, one that helps us think differently about loss, grief and death. Death lurks in the shadows, haunting us. She works to bring death into clearer view;  bearing witness to lives that have ended and the emotions of those who are saying goodbye. This is heart work, she says. 

Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud.

Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend.

Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Lonnie carries the deep well of history in his sparkling eyes and the deep resonance of his voice. He uses history as a tool to give us a fuller picture of who we are so that we can grapple with our past. As founder of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture, Lonnie curated the story of the USA's – and many other countries’ – tortured racial past. He is now the first person of colour to act as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. We have to let this time of change seize us, he says, and be comfortable building on the unknown. 

Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud.

Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend.

Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Margaret twinkles, the sparkle of a full life exploring her two passions: political science, for which she is famed, and Aboriginal art. Growing up in Baltimore in the 1960s, Margaret was taken on civil rights marches as a young girl and she is still marching now. Margaret shows us how we are living through the declining years of neoliberalism. It is time to bring a new political and economic system into being, she says, as she explores what it would take to build one that ensures wellbeing for all.

Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud.

Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend.

Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells