Social Arts for Dialogue Podcast

After taking a bit of a summer break, I’m excited to bring you this new conversation.

In this episode, I sit down with Arawana Hayashi and Ricardo Dutra Gonzalez to talk about social engagement, performance, and where Social Presencing Theater is heading. Arawana shares how her work in the US is leaning deeper into spirituality, racial justice, and returning to SPT’s roots in performance art. Then Ricardo breaks down the “pedagogies of togetherness”—this beautiful idea that living and being together is an intentional, everyday art form that can help young people navigate today’s heavy social and ecological crises.

Explore More & Connect:

* Learn more about Arawana’s work at arawanahayashi.com

* Explore Social Presencing Theater (SPT)

* Check out Ricardo’s portfolio at ricardo-dutra.com

* Dive into the Pedagogies of Togetherness offerings

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A SPECIAL EPISODE WITH A. CALL TO GATHER

The Dragon Dreaming Arts Village is a temporary pop-up village taking shape this August in Saaremaa, Estonia. What began as the idea of an arts retreat evolved into something much bigger: a chance to live, create, and learn together as a community.

Inspired by the Dragon Dreaming methodology, the village is built around collaboration, shared leadership, and collective dreaming. Instead of a fixed programme, participants co-create an evolving “Art Flow,” bringing their own skills, stories, and passions to share. This includes nature-based rituals, creative practices, communal meals, open-space workshops, and time to reconnect with ourselves, each other, and the more-than-human world. Families, youth, artists, facilitators, and changemakers are all welcome.

At its heart, the village is an experiment in how we might live differently—cultivating wonder, meaningful relationships, and new possibilities together. The organizers hope this first gathering will become a seed for more such events around the world.

MORE INFO AT: https://imaginaction.org/dragon-dreaming-arts-village-a-living-experiment-in-collective-imagination

REGISTER AT: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScHdAhguMyShNbkFYwm6abXayS0ChNzaGu_88MMLm8zRXzWwg/viewform

SUPPORT AT: https://hooandja.ee/campaigns/dragon-dreaming-arts-village/

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The episode opens questions on intuition as a form of knowing, the responsibility of “decentering” in leadership, and the role of mentorship in shifting the field. A conversation from 5 years ago with Marc Weinblatt, founder of Mandala Center for Change, tracing a life and practice of listening, balance, and social transformation. Reflecting on hiw work with applied theatre, Marc reflects on the interplay between action and reflection as the Yin and the Yang of Social Arts Practice.

Read more and connect with Marc' and his work at:

https://www.mandalaforchange.com/about/our-team

Stay tuned to the part 2 of this conversation and our next episode

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A conversation with Luca Urbano, co-founder of Inhabit, exploring ecological corridors as living infrastructures that reconnect fragmented landscapes in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. He describes these corridors as pathways that allow key species like jaguars to move freely, restoring ecological balance. The conversation frames corridors through systems thinking—as networks that exchange energy and information, capable of regenerating when protected.

A central shift emerges from ownership to stewardship, where people act as caretakers and advocates for nature. Luca introduces pagamento, a practice of giving back to the land through intention and reciprocity, supporting both ecological and cultural renewal. Inhabit extends this approach through tools like blockchain-based stewardship, enabling global participation in protecting biocultural territories.

If you want to go deeper, you can explore more about their work at inhabit.one, and also follow the parallel thread of Soilify soilify.it, an emerging project mentioned in the episode that translates soil data into a sensory experience to foster emotional connection with the earth. To stay connected with the wider research and practice, you can join the Substack, consider becoming a paid subscriber, or take part in the upcoming practice spaces over here: lu.ma/mentoring

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This month’s Living Library revisits a flashback episode from the first season of Imagine Action: Social Arts Across Borders, returning to a conversation recorded over five years ago with Ravi Resck, presented as a time-travel capsule whose insights remain strikingly relevant today. Ravi reflects on how growing up within a family engaged in social-environmental theatre and grassroots social entrepreneurship in Brazil shaped his commitment to curiosity, social justice, and independent thinking. Looking ahead, Ravi shares a vision of an ecocentric society grounded in “mollification,” shifting from large centralized systems toward localized cycles of production and care, and concludes by reflecting on the ImaginAction network as a living organism sustained through shared rituals, transparent onboarding, and light, adaptable agreements rather than rigid institutional structures.

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The Legislative Rainbow is a participatory theatrical methodology that blends Augusto Boal’s Rainbow of Desire and Legislative Theatre, adapted for small communities. It enables groups to surface shared tensions, embody collective desires and “demons,” and rapidly co-create living norms and codes of conduct.

Read more about the practice on the website and the resources it offers: legislativerainbow.com

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In this Living Library, Uri talks with Marina Pallarès Elias, a theater practitioner and researcher, about her journey creating the Theatre of Yes! Together, we explore how theater can drive social transformation while maintaining artistic quality.

Follow-up links:

* Theatre of Yes Online (5th Edition) training register on Eventbrite

* Learn more about Marina Pallers and the Theatre of Yes

* ImaginAction Upcoming events on Lu.ma and Theatre that Reconnects

See below a presentation made by NotebookLM based on this conversation

Do consider becoming a paid subscriber an support our work with ImaginAction

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Through the Spiral — Day 2 | Honoring the Pain

Through the Spiral is a 5-day collective journey rooted in the Work That Reconnects (Joanna Macy), Mutima Imani’s Expanded Spiral model, and Theatre that Reconnects (Uri Noy Meir)—exploring gratitude, grief, new vision, liberation, and integration through embodied, collective practice.

Day 2 focused on Honoring the Pain as a necessary passage toward liberation. Through sharing, deep listening, and playback theatre and social presencing theatre, participants gave voice to personal and ancestral grief.

🌱 Interested in supporting or joining Through the Spiral 2026 and the Fellowship (from Feb 2026)?Reach out — at [email protected]

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Ruth Cross reflects on her experience during our 2016 journey with ImaginAction. As we prepare for our next Learning Journey to Senegal (2026), we invite you to be part of opening THE Regenerative Arts Fellowship—where arts and community meet.

🌍 Join or Support the Journey:https://opencollective.com/imaginactionet/events/senegal-learning-journey-2026-6a58c373

✨ Upcoming Sessions

💫 Embodied Teamwork — Using Theatre to Build Trust and FlowHosted by Uri Noy Meir📅 Wed, Nov 5, 2025 — 2:30 PM GMT+1 (30 min, Zoom)Explore how simple embodied practices can deepen trust and connection.🔗 Join for free

🌿 Making Space for Connection — Shifting AwarenessHosted by Uri Noy Meir📅 Wed, Nov 12, 2025 — 2:15 PM GMT+1 (30 min, Zoom)A short experiential session to practice presence and attunement in virtual spaces.🔗 Join for free

🎭 Beyond the News — Theatre in the Post-Digital World📅 Thu, Nov 6 – Thu, Dec 4, 2025An in-depth 5-week online course exploring newspaper theatre and social polarization in the 21st century.🎟️ Super Early Bird (€75) | 🎓 Scholarships available (€100, +donation)🔗 Register here (need extra support to join in, let us know)

🌱 Theatre That Reconnects — Practice Space

Next session: Fri, Nov 28, 2025 — 14:15 CETAn embodied, participatory space blending The Work That Reconnects, Theatre of the Oppressed, Social Presencing Theatre, and Dragon Dreaming. This is a caring, open environment for previous participants and new explorers alike—to practice techniques, share stories, and deepen connection within this emerging field.

💧 Pay-what-you-want (including 0€): Register here

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Ten years ago, this journey changed many of our lives. As Ruth Cross shared from our 2016 experience in the video above

Join us, support, or sponsor a participant:👉 Senegal Learning Journey 2026

#TheatreThatReconnects #KadduYaraax #ImaginAction #AppliedTheatre #LearningJourney #Senegal2026

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