Join Us!
“It is only through imagining the so-called impossible that we can begin to concretely build it. When we free our imaginations, we question everything."
Walidah Imarisha
The (r)Evolutionary Incubator
If not you, who? If not now, when?
In a time of radical systems change, we are scaffolding creative potential to cultivate social, systemic and ecological evolution for planetary healing and collective thriving.
Culture has always been the most significant intervention point for changing systems. In this moment, often defined by the confluence of crises across all our social and ecological domains, we hold an essential role as creators of our culture and are uniquely poised to facilitate the transformation we seek.
It is the work of creators, those who imagine, design, and build pathways towards regenerative futures, to harness the potential to shift culture, heal systems, and ignite hope.
During these critical times, we’re seeding the call for (r)Evolutionaries who are ready to create community and shared solutions. As we empower the next wave of visionary thought leaders working to build equitable and just futures from the inside out, this call is for you.
DESIGN SCIENCE STUDIO
Program Pillars
CURRICULUM:
Explore and Orient
Blooming edge embodied education, building bridges for systemic understanding
Experience Visionary educators, curriculum resources and frameworks for project development in praxis every week to support our inquiry into what it takes to create a world that works for all.
Cross-pollination with other artists and designers to share insights, experiences and best practices.
COMMUNITY:
Deepen and Create
A commUnity of Practice. People from all around the world are uniting to rethink our structures, systems and solutions for collective flourishing.
Artists, Designers, Cultural Producers, Systems thinkers gather in this creative community to imagine and practice new ways of being in service to life.
Be part of a Global cohort connected to pARTners in the movement for mutual support and collective action. Connect with bioregional collectives of others in the program and ecosystem.
SHOWCASE:
Harvest and Amplify
We powerfully weave, scaffold, resource and launch cultural interventions for art that changes history.
Through 3 salons and a culminating summit, share your voice, your creative expression and your work to the world.
Throughout the decade, our summits, festivals and immersive experiences celebrate the Regenaissance and show the world that other futures are possible.
Want to pre-prepare your application? Make a copy of this template [https://bit.ly/coheartappprep] to prepare your answers!
The Design Science Studio is an educational and cultural incubator for art and design science that empowers (r)Evolutionary creators to catalyze regenerative futures that work for ALL of Life.
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Cohort Sessions: Dec 16 - June 30
In Person Optional + Additional Costs involved:
Summit July 3-5
Retreat July 6-8
Optional Closing Integration mid-July
33 Visionary Educators
7 Months | 5 Holons
44 sessions
3 Salons | 1 Summit
Online: 3 salons, 1 summit
In person opportunities to gather in our bioregional collectives / regional hubs
Optional person summit and retreat in July in Hopland, CA USA at Gateway Mendocino to connect with the land and each-other to embolden and embody the work. Extra costs involved for in person activations.
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We gather on Tuesdays / Thursdays from 8am-10am PT
best for international timing, these are required online sessions
PLUS other optional special sessions at a variety of times
primarily on Wednesdays (Wellness Wednesdays) / Fridays for fireside chats and select weekends for optional design sprints
Cost is sliding scale
$2,400-$3,800
This allows for people to pay at a level they can afford in hopes that the balance will still meet our requirements for holding this container for you, please pick a level that can support the reciprocity of the container
on the low end, that is approximately $345/mo paid over 7 months
We have ample partial and full scholarships available
If you are from and live in the Global South aka. Global Majority, you qualify for our Global Solidarity Tuition which is $1,200
We host 2 mandatory classes a week. Additionally, there are two semi-optional hands-on work time and a variety of other activities to amplify the creative capacity of those in the program: feedback sessions, fireside chats and wellness sessions that are optional but that will enhance your experience.
We have carefully designed a curriculum that is woven with visionaries who are excellent in their fields, incredible speakers and practical work, along with immersions, design sprints and hackathons.
These are some of the key themes of the curriculum: Futurism, Comprehensive Anticipatory Design Science, Artivism, Planetary Challenges, Opportunities and Solutions, World Building, Gamification, Culture and Art that Changes History, Participatory Design, Biophilic Design, Bucky's Principles, Creative Application Strategies, Traditional Ecological Knowledge + Indigenous Wisdom, Social Change, Ontological & Experience Design, Decolonization, Living Systems, Decentralization, Systems Change, Bioregionalism, Collective Sense-making, Resilience, Material Integrity, Pluriversality, Deep Ecology, Liberation, Embodiment and more!
Our program is highly practical, it is designed to build capacity in creators. You can come into the incubator with a project or create one while here. And we will also offer you the opportunity to commit your work and help world-changing organizations and projects that we will bring as partners into the program. Our goal is all the same: to create lasting regenerative culture. To create Art that changes history.
We will offer you the tools, platforms and scaffolding to amplify and support your developmental journey in evolving and birthing your brilliant ideas. In some cases, we may be able to provide some funding for your project as well, or to connect you with the necessary partners to make your ideas happen.
Our program looks nothing like a conventional curriculum or online school. We are highly experiential, experimental and we use design thinking, systems thinking, comprehensive anticipatory design science and many other wireframes and tools to create a space that generates as much of a learning experience as it creates a nourishing environment that encourages you to account for all your human needs.
One of the most incredible pieces of feedback we received in our first 3 cohorts was that we managed to magnetize family, a tribal feeling that helped many of our (r)Evolutionary creators make it through these last extreme years of hardships.
The Design Science Studio was launched as a decade long initiative. After the successes of our first three coheARTs, we plan to continue throughout the next decade or more.
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Pessimism is a luxury for a less urgent time. Our program is fast paced, filled with information and tools and it will require your commitment and attention, but don’t worry, we’ve had all ages of folks, from twenty to seventy-five years olds people go through the program successfully. We are here to help you in every way we can along your path.
We have three big showcase moments that you will prepare for: one in February, one in April and one at the end of the incubator as the big launch event in late June. Historically, our online showcases have seen up to 750 attendees, 200 talks and multi-day events filled with art and celebrations to welcome the Regenaissance.
During the program you will also have multiple other opportunities to show your work primarily online and occasionally, in person! We have been building a strong alumni program that continues our collective commitment through the decade. With 380 graduates and counting, the Alumni (called Evolutionaries) are a family of kin along this quest to protect and restore our spaceship eARTh.
In years past we received almost triple the number of applications than the amount of people we could accept. It was a hard process. This year we anticipate the same if not more. We will carefully review each and every applicant, and consider from all angles to select this next coheART.
The cost of the program covers the operational costs of running this incubator. The money is spent on the team and the tools that are necessary to give you the best experience we possibly can. We are able to offer partial and complete scholarships.
Please understand that as committed as we are to accepting as many scholarships as possible, we have to find a sustainable balance for the organization.
The Design Science Studio coheART is like your dojo. You’ll come here to practice, to connect, to grow, to learn, to create. It’s a commitment to the betterment of the planet and its ecosystems. It’s us working together to do everything we can to regenerate culture and with it - the future of humanity. We can’t wait to welcome you into our family!
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In 2020, in the middle of a global pandemic, we decided to launch into the world a pretty ambitious program: we aimed to select, mentor, scaffold and resource 144 creators from all over the world to build their capacity, amplify their voices and support their art and projects, aimed at propelling energy towards more regenerative and just futures to benefit all life.
We imagined how it might unfold, but didn’t fully know what to expect, and what we lived through blew our minds. The first three coheARTs of the Design Science Studio changed our lives, and the lives of those of many who joined.
As we embark on a journey with the incoming incubator - the fourth coheART of the Design Science Studio, the global climate is changing - and we are always evolving to meet these moments with courageous heARTs, devoted practice and a deepened relationship with all of life. We can’t wait to meet you and continue to breathe the world our heARTs know is possible into being.
As Buckminster Fuller once said,
“We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims”
Lets ARTchitect the future, together through the Design Science (r)Evolution.
This is a glimpse into what they experienced, through their words:
“The studio has been home for those who deeply care about the planet and a place to discover the infinite potential of creativity and connection. I'm honoured to have been a part of it.”
— Alana Bloom, Evolutionary
“ The greatest benefit by far was to discover we are not alone. That there is a method to this madness”
— Stephen Bau, Evolutionary
“DSS is an ideas incubator, a connector of dots, a synchronicity machine, a weaver of worlds. DSS and LSC was the shining light that kept me motivated and moving forward throughout an otherwise dark and daunting year. The inspiration and support from the team and fellow (r)Evolutionaries was a huge blessing.”
— Helena Sheridan, Evolutionary
“ I got validation as an artist, designer, writer, event organizer, leader, friend, and human being with influence, capacity, and agency by providing opportunities, permission, and encouragement to try everything.”
— Anonymous
The artistic imagination allows us to have a visceral experience of possibility. In times where we understand that the future must be significantly different than the present (for the health and flourishing of 100% of life), then there are few better pathways to realizing this than art that illuminates this future. Art that gives us freedom for a moment to live within, be challenged by, discuss, and bask in possibility.”
—Tom Chi
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The Design Science Studio was born out of the minds of Roxanna Shohadaee, the founder of habRitual, Amanda Joy Ravenhill, former director of the Buckminster Fuller Institute and Faith Flanigan, former BFI director of operations. During the launch of the first Cohort, Nicolas Alcala joined the team as the fourth Co-Founder.
Together they have more than 30 years of experience combined trying to address some of the world’s biggest problems through multiple interdisciplinary educational and inspirational programs, experiences, at scale conscious festivals and all kinds of initiatives.
The primary active stewards of the second year of the program were Roxanna Shohadaee and Nicolas Alcala, and a brilliant team of incredible multidisciplinary creators and system thinkers who are committed to our collective mission.
Roxanna Shohadaee is currently the Ecosystem Director of the program and Amanda Joy, Faith and Nicolas are all active advisors of the program in coheART 4 alongside an advisory council and many other incredible team members and Alumni who are in active stewardship of the Design Science Studio including: Bliss Alberts, Eve Rose, Ari Lazer, Marieam Shohadaee, Stephen Bau, Mark Smith, Mariette Papic and many more!
You can learn more about them on the Team’s page. They have been involved in some of the most interesting initiatives in the world to amplify and experiment for creative solutions for the planet and are bringing their entire knowledge and network into this program.
A council of key advisors, partners, visionary speakers and collaborators complete the DSS family. They represent an ecosystem a deeply rooted in a commitment to do the work creating a world that works for all of life whom we’ve found on our journey and that have taught us endless things and share deep wisdom with us.
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Classes happen online, at 8am Pacific Standard Time on Tuesdays and Thursdays (mandatory). We use well known platforms like zoom for the classes and then a broad range of tools for our work.
We also use Hylo as our social network to connect, Miro for brainstorming and Topia and New Art City as our virtual showcase worlds.
We recommend that you have a computer to be able to interact with all the tools we will offer. A good internet connection during the class also helps a lot.
Once you get accepted, we will walk you through all the necessary things you need to know.
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Yes… and. We require mandatory attendance to at least the main classes twice a week in a somehow consistent way to continue being part of the program. If your work or other things make it impossible, we will require from you that you at least watch the recordings and respond to a few asynchronous questions after each class. How much you participate in all the other optional tools we put at your disposal is up to you. Many of our (r)Evolutionaries found this program life-changing and committed a good amount of their week for many months to advance their projects and pARTicipate. Some others couldn’t, but showed up with their projects to the showcases and when they could.
Our goal is that we respect the time and commitment of those who decide to show up and also of those who apply and want and can commit, so we will do our best to find that balance between what we would want and what you can, and come to a middle point that feels nourishing for everyone
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We’ve calculated the cost of the program based on the expenses necessary to make it happen with the minimal team possible and paying fair but very modest wages. The program fee of all participants doesn’t cover all that is needed to keep it running but it’s our commitment to try to keep it as affordable as possible and to find alternative ways to finance it. We hope that one day it will be fully funded for participants by generous donors.
For now, the cost of the entire program is a sliding scale of $2,400-$3,800 per participant based on a pay what you can in that range model.
This comes down to $345/month approximately if paid over 7 months, with the option to extend into the alumni program.
What you get in return is:
7 months of a regenerative and cultural incubator
Classes twice a week in the holon cycles.
A continued practice and multiple tools to support bringing your ideas to life and making them real in new ways.
A consistent community of practice to support your ideation to expand your mind, your creativity and your sensemaking of the world
A thoughtful scaffolding for your projects and multiple platforms to amplify your voice
Masterclasses, fireside chats, showcases, funding opportunities, connections...
We understand that we have participants from all over the world. For some, this might feel like a bargain compared to other high level courses that offer way less content and time for way more. For some, it might feel like an impossible obstacle based on their possibilities.
We encourage you to find creative ways to find the necessary funds to attend the Studio if you are really committed to it. We will happily think with you how this can be achieved in your particular case. Just reach out. And know that we are constantly trying to find ways to lower our participant fees and support each and every one of you creative geniuses out there.
In the meantime, what we can offer are a limited amount of scholarships. You can apply for a full scholarship or a partial one. The main thing you need to know about them is that these are meant for people with very limited resources. We will likely ask scholarship applicants for proof of income, unemployment or other things to be sure that all receiving the scholarships are the ones most needing them.
The partial scholarships will be granted on a case by case basis. They suppose a specific discount of the base price and they will be assessed one by one and discussed with the participants that have been accepted to the coheART. Take them more as a little potential financial help if you are in need, but when applying you should do so understanding that it might not be granted and you should be ready to pay the full price if that’s the case.
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We will let our alumni share with you their experience, so you get this question answered first hand.
“This program gave me Hope and truly opened my heart again. We were given so many tools and teachers - so much richness.”
- Stefanie Schwartz, Evolutionary"I had quit higher education for deeper education, and I am proud to be the first intake- hence the first graduate- of the Buckminster Fuller Institute + HabRitual Design Science Studio. The story of my becoming cannot be told without the mention of my fellowship with the Design Science Studio."
- Umair Zia, Evolutionary"It is really a broad range of topics. It is an incredible experience with amazing people. You will learn as much as you want, and that can be a lot. If you believe the world can change for the better, the experience confirms it."
-Melissa Lockwood, Evolutionary“I am feeling that this is the beginning of something beautiful and my heart soars considering the possibilities of what might be accomplished by the collaborative efforts of the Design Science Studio... I am eternally grateful for this opportunity to participate...Thank-You Thank-You Thank-You…”
- Rock Ridgeway, Evolutionary -
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And what about the teachers and activities?
Through our work and practice we’ve been fortunate to meet and work with some of the most brilliant minds of our generation and from generations before. Humans committed to their missions and purpose who have dived deep into the world’s living systems and best creative intervensions and have done the work to figure out how to learn and teach some of those principles to others.
This program is woven with an incredible array of visionaries who share their work and learnings with our students. Some of them worked directly with Buckminster Fuller. Most of them are doers, putting their hands where their words are.
They have and will continue to inspire our coheARTs for years to come and we can’t wait for you to meet them.
This is a selection of some of our past and present speakers, teachers, visionaries and mentors.
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