Tokens: An experimental making project to foster dialogue for Racial Justice
Tokens, a project envisioned by Will Nickley (he/him) with the help of other participants in the 2022 Racial Justice Pathways (RJP) cohort, involves experimental making, or form-giving, around aspects of Racial Justice as a means of facilitating a critical discourse.
Tokens was first enacted within a 2-hour workshop during a faculty retreat in the Department of Design at The Ohio State University on May 3, 2022. Fifteen participants embraced their own creativity and means of self-expression as they reflected on questions that allowed them to share their lived experiences surrounding the topic of Racial Justice; after a short introduction to core concepts of Racial Justice, participants were asked to make use of provided media (craft materials) or media of their choosing to “make," either individually or in small groups, and then share (if they so desired) the result of their making with the group. 12 Tokens were shared.
Visit the full Tokens online gallery here: go.osu.edu/racialjusticetokens
Works cataloged in Tokens were created in response to one or more of the following questions:
– How have you encountered [the topic of] Racial Justice?
– What do you stand for?
– What does freedom feel like?
– How do you see "the work" [of Racial Justice]?
Each work is a Token of its creator's reflection on these questions, of its creator's lived experiences related to the topic of Racial Justice.
