The In Between: Tea Talks is a series of intimate facilitated discussions over home cooked meals that bring together conflicting populations of artists, activists and workers to discuss topics affecting them in the Bay Area. The conversations will be documented in audio, and through a series of commissioned writings by participants that will be published in a related reader, while artworks will be made in response and displayed during the show.
The project gathers artists, writers, tech workers, “sharing economy” laborers (Uber and Lyft drivers, AirBnB hosts) and their critics (taxi drivers, tenants rights activists) together in a hospitable environment so each may share their positions in a safe yet open and critical dialogue. Each position will be respectfully held in the space.
Adobe Books has always been a space for free speech, riveting conversation and a multitude of voices. It is a particularly poignant location as it sits in the heart of the Mission district and has been a subject of displacement and gentrification.
The goals of the project are to:
- Complicate the current good vs, evil/us vs. them narrative while eliciting understanding and extracting nuances from all sides.
- Engage in local micro politics while placing these issues in the larger current political landscape.
- Create a space for hospitable democracy.
- Share understanding about issues affecting our communities to a broader audience.
The meals will take place in the gallery and reserved participants will be the only ones allowed to voice opinions during the talks. Outside visitors can watch quietly and there will be a chance for them to add commentary through a note system.
++++++++++++++++++++
TECH/ARTIST TEA
Saturday 4/15, 10am-12pm
ACTIVIST CHALLENGE TEA: How the left is being divided by differing activist tactics and media coverage of them.
Sunday 4/16, 1-3pm
TAXI-RIDE SHARING TEA
Monday 4/17, 3-5pm
TENANTS RIGHTS-HOME SHARING TEA
Tuesday 4/18, 5-7pm
++++++++++++++++++++
If interested in participating, please contact Lexa Walsh at Lexa@lexawalsh.com or 510 282 6311