Steeped in a build-it-ourselves ethos, we believe in the construction of educational spaces wherever we can manage, be it parks, art galleries, studio spaces, house parties, or other forms of untraditional classroom spaces. By expanding our classroom to the various pockets of the city we navigate, we hope to find the physical and conceptual pliability in our built and natural evironment. In doing so, we reimagine the place many of us call home in the hopes of moving the needle towards a more just and progressive future.
Most, if not all, of our happenings are free of cost to emphasize a democractic approach. We acknowledge there are a myraid of sociopolitical factors we encounter that may challenge our notions of “free.” Say, fees like parking tolls or the form of transporation we use to arrive at a happening, to larger systemic issues omnipresent in our lives. We don’t disagree.
S.O.D. finds inspiration in other projects like the Bruce High Quality Foundation University, The Independent School of Art, ROSA: School for Politics Chicago, SOMA Mexico, Mountain School of Arts, and many others. Ultimately we reflect on the quote below by addressing West Michigan’s artistic community directly:
“Art is an invitation to questioning; it is the social place of doubt, of wanting to understand and wanting to change reality.”
~ Tania Bruguera