charles · Mindful Wellness

A research stream of the Charles Mindful Wellness Research Program

Experiments in Being Together

One condition changes. Everything else becomes visible.

The stream

About this stream

Experiments in Being Together is a Black queer-centered participatory-art research stream of the Charles Mindful Wellness Research Program. Each event takes one familiar rule of being together, a rule so ordinary it usually goes unnoticed, and changes it for the length of a gathering. What the room does with that change is the artwork.

Who this centers

Experiments in Being Together centers Black queer people. Some events are for Black queer participants specifically. Most are open to the broader QTBIPOC community. A small number invite general public participation while Black queer artistic authorship stays visible throughout. Allies are welcome by invitation, and take their cues from the room rather than setting them.

Four events, a fifth in development · seeking venues and partners

Five experiments

  • Unfinished

    A studio party where nothing has to be finished, explained, or justified.

    What changes Nobody is required to finish, justify, optimize, or publicly explain what they are making.

    Protected communal time for anyone whose work has been interrupted by isolation, overwork, caregiving, fear, or lack of space. Unfinished work becomes the raw material of a collective installation instead of private evidence of failure.

  • One Question All Night

    The whole gathering stays with one question, encountered through movement, writing, sound, and silence.

    What changes The gathering refuses the pressure to cover many subjects and remains with one public question all night.

    A slower form of dialogue that doesn't depend on public speaking, debate, or quick verbal confidence.

  • No Explanation Necessary

    An exhibition-party where guests present something meaningful without ever having to explain what it means.

    What changes Participants may present something meaningful without being required to interpret or translate it for others.

    Relief for people routinely expected to explain their identities, bodies, histories, or creative choices before being granted recognition.

  • Social Weather

    Internal states expressed through color, texture, sound, and movement instead of words.

    What changes Participants do not have to answer “How are you?” with a conventional emotional label or personal explanation.

    Room for people who prefer metaphor, movement, or privacy over direct disclosure. The room's collective mood becomes a shared, anonymous, responsive artwork.

  • A fifth experiment

    A fifth event, paired with the same inquiry as Mindful Creative Labs’ Many Things Can Be True, the practice of holding multiple honest perspectives at once instead of collapsing to one, is in active development. Announced when it's ready.

What we're seeking

Arts and cultural funding, presenting institutions and venues, community advisers, artists and facilitators, and participants interested in attending or helping shape a future edition.

Interest and partnership inquiries · Connect