Leander Kreltszheim
Our individual and collective ability to work in deeply relational ways plays an integral role in how we might navigate and design for complex systems (Meadows, 2008; Cottam, 2018). Relationality describes the connection that exists between all things—inclusive of humans, land, plants, water and more-than-human life (Callaghan and Gordon, 2020; Monbiot, 2013). This framing engages with global First Nations knowledge systems, where relationality forms an underlying fabric and is woven from threads of reciprocity, connection, care and shared responsibility (Hernandez Ibinarriaga, 2025; Yunkaporta, 2023; Kimmerer, 2020; Langton, 2024).
Inherent in this framing is also an understanding of relationality as an embodied practice that develops through ongoing reflection and tending. This focus on relationality provides new possibilities for how we might attune to the ambiguity, uncertainty, non-linearity and ongoing emergent qualities inherent in navigating complex systems. However, these qualities are often in tension with dominant Western worldviews that prioritise efficiency, certainty, outputs and individual achievement (Monbiot, 2016; Topa and Narvaez, 2022). Consequently, it can be challenging to find safe spaces in which to practise and receive feedback on skills that support us to be in relation with the world around us.
This interactive workshop invites participants to engage in a relationality practice space. Being in right relation with the materials of watercolour painting—including pigment, water, brushes and various surfaces—can evoke the felt experience of deep relationality—particularly the experience of complexity, uncertainty, non-linearity and emergence. Through individual and paired play activities, participants are guided to explore new ways of relating to materials; practise relational concepts (such as reciprocity); reflect on their felt experiences and learn to navigate new ways of working in the space between themselves, materials and other participants.
No experience with painting is required, just a willingness to embrace the ambiguity of working in relation with watercolour materials.
KEYWORDS: embodied relationality, systems design, participatory workshop, watercolour painting
RSD TOPICS: Learning & Education, Methods & Methodology
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The RSD14 workshop folder contains a downloadable brief with each workshop's context and background, agenda, facilitator profiles, and key references.