Transition Living Lab

Location

London, Indonesia

An immersive 1.5 hour hands-on workshop that utilises fragrance as a medium for exploring hopeful futures with young displaced persons.

Top Left: Cover Image, Right: Test Workshop (with International students) , Bottom Left: Revoke workshop with displaced persons

Theory: Utopia as a Method

“[T]he point is not for utopia (unlike the tradition that calls for “the moral education” for humanity) to assign “true” or “just” goals to desire but rather to educate desire, to stimulate it, to awaken it - not to assign it a goal but to open a path for it:...Desire must be taught to desire, to desire better, to desire more, and above all to desire otherwise.” (M. Abensour, 1999, p.145)

Future-making through fragrance

MOTIVATION: Opportunities to dream, to be entertained, to create and engage in imaginative activities are fundamental human rights. Training opportunities for displaced persons are often centered on vocational or assimilation skills. While undoubtedly crucial for immediate needs, the overt focus on commercially “productive” skills can be a barrier in exploring human experiences that may foster new and hopeful future outlooks.

AIM:

Our workshop aims to expand and challenge the experiences available to displaced persons, fostering a changemaker mindset. Those who have faced traumatic displacement need creative ways to process their past. We provide this through the realm of scent—a sensory medium that offers a safe space for exploring and reframing defenses.

Scent has a direct connection to the limbic system, aligning with emotions and moods. Pleasing scents can enhance positive moods, helping individuals reconnect with their inner resources.

Our vision is to co-create a sensory space where participants can communicate their experiences through scent-making. This leaves them inspired and equipped to re-engage with their communities.