Ever run a group? Managed a gathering? From conferences to residencies to retreats, our meetings are often shaped by more by habit than intention, something that can limit what is actually possible. A Toolkit for Gathering is devised to help us plan more fulfilling and less generic gatherings where participants, all readers are invited to enjoy the shared curiosity, spontaneous invention, and surprising insights made possible by getting together.
Originally conceived as the authors planned and participated in a two-day gathering at a residency program in 2019, this book was written and designed over the subsequent year of COVID, a year of deferrals and uncertainty and impossible working conditions. This new edition shares knowledge and insights gleaned from experience, and shares pathways forward for sharing ideas and building space and time for dialogue. It outlines simple ways to make professional gatherings more meaningful, productive and joyful with tools on a spectrum from practical to poetic, alongside concrete and replicable tactics.
Includes a short list of further reading, and a new foreword by Christopher Sleboda and Kathleen Sleboda of Draw Down Books.
Authors: Rachel Berger, with Meg Bisineer, Sara Dean and Janette Kim
