In this ninth episode of ‘Ways of Listening’, socially engaged artist and PhD researcher Alex Parry explores workshop practices in depth. Alex’s bio describes her long-term interest in ‘how things form communities’. She has a history of working in public spaces, creating events and objects that encourage collective experiences.

In a conversation with Hannah Kemp-Welch Alex describes her overlapping interests in collective organising with artistic practices, and how this led to a formative project, intervening in the structure of the seminar to disrupt the usual power dynamics. Alex questions – how do we respond to non-participation? Could there be richness in refusal?

Together with Hannah, Alex discusses the tensions between the requirement or desire to plan a workshop, and creating space to really listen and respond to the room.