The CoWS Breakfast was the first workshop of the AAWP conference. It was on Anaiwan Country in Black Gully behind New England Regional Art Museum.
The structure of the event was To meet in the gully, share a simple breakfast then do some weathering activities. I DECIDED TO FOLLOW THE ACTIVITIES AS WE DESIGNED THEM FOR our forthcoming book “How to weather together” (2025). Specifically “Close Meteorology”, “Weathering WITH AND WITHOUT” and “Cosmic WEATHERING”, the inclusion of the breakfast was linked to the more general activity “COMMUNITY HOUSEWORK” (= making events nice).
“CLOSE METEOROLOGY” encourages broad and deep observations of the weather in situ. What are the conditions? Where is weather? AND THEN MAKING small found poems by getting the weather to select which words you can use from your notes. It’s a multi-step process that really makes you aware of your surroundings. As non-indigenous folks we also invite awareness, insofar as it is possible, of the colonial history and colonial gaze we all bring to this and to seek opportunity to query that perspective at the same time.
“Weathering with and without” is a little game to give you a sense of where the weather touches your life beyond the weather itself; what technologies and practices you use to manage it. It is played in a group.
We closed with a very short meditation “COSMIC WEATHERING” which is further grounding in place but also encouraging a sensing of the bigger global climate in the place.
It was a wonderful group of people and good way to begin a new conference. In some ways challenging and intimate, but ultimately a very soft landing in place.
Community Weathering Station (Cows) 