We designed the Power Play course to examine the power dynamics of the way individuals come together in groups. Through making and using "relational objects" [a term coined in the 1960s by Brazilian artist Lygia Clark] we experimented with how individuals can maintain their agency when "scaling up" from relationships with ourselves to large public groups. For reference we looked at the organizational strategies of movements such as 1970s feminist consciousness-raising sessions, 21st century horizontalism, and free schools. Students used relational object-making to create experiences beyond the immediate materiality of the object--for a solo, collaborative, or communal experiences.
