I went to the Fourth World Congress of Psychogeography at the University of Huddersfield. Before it started I had a really interesting exchange with someone who used to be a carpenter by trade and lives down the road from the Uni. He spoke about not having the opportunity for critical dialogue in his locality and everyday life where his peers and neighbours are discussing football and TV. Whilst he talks about football and TV with them, he also thrives on critical dialogue. I told him about my work and he honed in on Dwell Time and we reflected on reasons why mental health is so poor for many people at the moment. He asked if I’d done any comparative studies with other cultures such as in the east. I haven’t and only really know the World Happiness Report which I have no idea on the reliability of the data and if the measures can be consistent across the world. A very interesting exchange.
I also bumped into a artist friend who I’ve never met in real life before, Robyn Woolston, and her friend Tanya Meditzky. We discussed the conference and respective works/current projects and life in general. I mentioned in a previous post about another conference, that whilst the conference itself is interesting and inspiring, it seems the dialogue that takes place incidentally and around the edges of the thing that brings us together is the stuff of most value. The dialogue happens and is formed by the context of the conference or event and wouldn’t happen in that way or at all if it wasn’t for the mutual purpose of being there.
