A Carrier Bag of Tricks: artistic practice as research and unwinnable games for building trust скачать в хорошем качестве

A Carrier Bag of Tricks: artistic practice as research and unwinnable games for building trust

Developed as part of my fellowship with the British Council at IASH, this workshop investigates how embodied play can operate as inquiry — particularly in situations where language alone is insufficient. This video documents the Carrier Bag of Tricks workshop: a 5-hour embodied, participatory workshop co-facilitated with Dr. Anthony Schrag and held at the Edinburgh Futures Institute in June 2025. The session brought together 11 artists and academics to explore unwinnable games as a method of artistic research. The central research question guiding the workshop was: How can unwinnable games function as an artistic method for building trust and reflecting on power in intercultural and decolonial contexts? During the workshop, participants played and co-created games that could not be won. By removing the possibility of success, attention shifted toward doubt, care, uncertainty, ambiguity, discomfort, and relation — held as temporary playmates rather than obstacles. When winning disappears, other dynamics become visible. This session took place in a relatively safe academic environment. In contexts shaped by fear, insecurity, trauma, or specific cultural norms, the form would need to adapt — sometimes without physical proximity, without mixed groups, or without bodies at all. This is not therapy or team-building. It is an artistic practice that explores play as research — a way of noticing how trust forms, falters, and gathers. The workshop forms part of the ongoing work of The Joyful Institute for Adequate Studies, which creates spaces for adults to connect more deeply through play. If you are interested in unwinnable games, embodied learning, or joyful adequate practice, you’re welcome to explore further or get in touch: www.antheamoys.com or   / antheamoys