Thread by @ImmersiveArtsUK

Hello world! It’s @tim_lytc checking in for the morning. I’m a NEW TALENT Fellow on the programme. I’m a Queer dance creative working across theatre, film and creative tech. My work is centred on advocating for gender, health, race and Queer issues.

My #digitalplacemaking research looks at the potentials of combining #Dance & Movement with #CreativeTechnology to create safer spaces for #Queer folks. Check out my page for a little taste of what I've done✨

bristolbathcreative.org/fellows/tim-lo

At the beginning, I was inspired by past work I had done with @LiminaImmersive @SplashAndRipple @lisamaythomas And their approach to bodies and technology - The conscious effort to create comfortable, inclusive spaces, where audiences could escape and connect at the same time.

It was also very encouraging to chat with the other Fellows and attend workshops together. We thought and talked about hybrid spaces, co-creating, what inclusivity really means...Even what #digitalplacemaking means to each of us. I gotta admit, it got pretty overwhelming.

Getting to define your own research area, how you want to do it, what your own goalposts are - essentially making your own "research container" is really cool! And being a New Talent Fellow meant I had even *more* scope to do this.

One of the biggest learnings for me throughout this journey, is digging deep and connecting parts of myself that I've been used to fragmenting in order to survive. To draw from my dance experiences and how much physical + digital spaces tie in with my Queer and racial identity.

The personal is political.
It is transformative.
And it is change.

We cannot talk about embedding everyday experiences to transform spaces, if we don't fully understand the *power* of personal everyday experiences.

As part of my #digitalplacemaking research, I interviewed Queer volunteers who shared highly personal stories with me. Their honesty and vulnerability is positively life changing. I believe we created #queerspaces that were nurturing, cathartic, and truly accepting.

In my written piece, I highlight key themes that have arisen from these interviews with Queer folks.

I asked many questions about Body connection, presentation, Gender identity & how Visibility relates to very real threats to one's safety.

bristolbathcreative.org/article/on-que…

How often do you think about your body and the way you move? Or about the spaces you are in? Do different spaces make you move differently?

What does safety mean to you? How does it look? How does it feel? How does it smell?

What does a safe space really mean?

In exploring Queer bodies & movement, I delved into the history of how Queer people have always used dance and movement as a way to reclaim their bodies, identities & transform spaces.
Eg #Drag culture. A contemporary collective that has really inspired me is @bittenpeachuk

Queer folks think A LOT about our bodies and spaces we are in - we've had to navigate a heteronormative world that doesn't fit who we are.
I found this paper v interesting: #Queerness in relation to history, bodies, disability and even quantum physics core.ac.uk/download/pdf/1…

Talking about safe spaces - I gotta thank @TheQueerAsia for consistently creating accepting, uplifting, *hybrid & customisable* physical+digital spaces. Their Book &
academic x film x art events, sparked many thoughts about agency and *choice* in spaces. queerasia.com/qabook2019/

Change and transformation comes with increasing insight to what Queer folks already have and what we are lacking.

The Queer world is not a monolith, and to make spaces safer for Queer folks, we gotta understand what the different barriers are.

creativecolab.org.uk/post/is-queer-…

How do we create equitable spaces of justice?

How do we ensure #digitalplacemaking isn't another attempt to gentrify and whitewash?

What needs to be in place for Queer, Black, POC, immigrants, refugees, disabled, neurodiverse folks to be safe and to thrive?

"#Visibility without #Power is a curse"

True change comes when #Queer folks are not merely visibly #represented. We also have to be in *positions of power* engaging in *everyday activism* - creating spaces & making decisions that positively influence everyday life consistently.

I'm gonna leave you to ponder how you can create and transform spaces through your everyday actions.

To me #digitalplacemaking is never just about existing tech/inventing new tech, it is about connecting to people on a genuine emotional level with their home and surroundings.

Before I sign off, here are more superb Queer Black & POC accounts to follow that have inspired my thinking & lit up my timeline @TheQueerAsia @ukblackpride @bbz_london @bittenpeachuk @kiki_bristol @daikonzine @QTI_Coalition @BristolPride

I'm excited to continue exploring #movement #tech and #queerspaces & to amplify + strengthen Queer spaces that are radically transformative and enqueering our perspectives. I canNOT wait to gather many of us on this journey and develop whole new worlds and Queer ways of being.

Shout out to all the beautiful souls I had the fortune of speaking with along this journey. And a HUGE thank you to everyone from the @Bristol_BathRD team & all the amazing Fellows! Make sure you check out our lush 6-part Recorded Conversation bristolbathcreative.org/event/reframin…

If you fancy some dance & movement, you can watch this short #dance creative response to themes arising from my work - a little improv on a walkway close to my home. I wanted to transform an "In-Between" space, to a place of freedom and agency.

Once again, it's @tim_lytc and it's been a joy sharing some of my experience with you all! Thanks for tuning in to my musings. I'm checking out now!

Stay put for the wonderful @shawnsobers who will be sharing research on how music can create sanctity, place and peace.