Abstract
We use the relational as a lens to examine how a workshop, created to inspire sensitivity to the interdependent nature of all life, is itself a nest of relations—shaped by intentions, co-created content, and outcomes beyond organisers’ influence. With a practical mission to decentre humans and acknowledge interdependencies – in a turn to more-than-human ethics and a commitment to the hyperlocal eco-social – the workshop employs live action roleplay (LARP) to engage a small English town in facing future uncertainties. We explore the place of care, solidarity and collective agency in confronting readiness to deal with coming challenges. Linking theories of relationality and practices of relating, we conclude that the workshop can be an example of how, if we want meaningful change, locally-embedded agentic care relations can be made fractal through all our engagements and encounters.
Keywords
more-than-human; care; readiness; ecological; workshop; impact
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/nordes.2025.19
Citation
Light, A.,and Catlow, R.(2025) Designing relations all the way down: Hyperlocal eco-social arcs of care and roleplay, in Brandt, E., Markussen, T., Berglund, E., Julier, G., Linde, P. (eds.), Nordes 2025: Relational Design, 6-8 August, Oslo, Norway. https://doi.org/10.21606/nordes.2025.19
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
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Designing relations all the way down: Hyperlocal eco-social arcs of care and roleplay
We use the relational as a lens to examine how a workshop, created to inspire sensitivity to the interdependent nature of all life, is itself a nest of relations—shaped by intentions, co-created content, and outcomes beyond organisers’ influence. With a practical mission to decentre humans and acknowledge interdependencies – in a turn to more-than-human ethics and a commitment to the hyperlocal eco-social – the workshop employs live action roleplay (LARP) to engage a small English town in facing future uncertainties. We explore the place of care, solidarity and collective agency in confronting readiness to deal with coming challenges. Linking theories of relationality and practices of relating, we conclude that the workshop can be an example of how, if we want meaningful change, locally-embedded agentic care relations can be made fractal through all our engagements and encounters.