Self-Defence for minorities that have to make a living in the art world.

WORKSHOP Module 1: Power analysis and defences.

Workshop created by Yishay Garbasz and Joel Clark.

1. Safe Space policy

2. Privilege Walk

3. Power Analysis and Reverse Privilege Walk

4. Introduction to Attacks and Defenses

======= LUNCH BREAK

5. Defense scripting (small groups)

6. Categories for Attacks (large group)

7. Harm Reduction

8. Physical activities

Objectives:

The function of Workshop 1: Power Analysis is to understand our own relative positions in society—our privileges and our oppressions. From there, students learn tactics for recognizing power imbalances in everyday interactions, and discuss barriers to entry such as money, accessibility, and safety. This workshop offers a framework to recognize power imbalances in interactions with individuals and institutions and provides practical tools to survive and defend against common attacks experienced by minorities in the art world.

* This is the first in a series of workshops especially designed for those experiencing multiple oppressions at the same time—those experiencing disability and/or poverty, sex workers, trans women, refugees, and others. This workshop DOES NOT REQUIRE an academic background or certification of any kind. This workshop is meant to arm students with point-of-use tools and knowledge of self and communal defenses both in the art world and in everyday life.

Materials:

Chalk/White Board

Paper and Pens

Small Group areas

Quote:

“While those in positions of relative power may say “It’s hard for everyone,” those of us on the margins experience that very differently.” —Yishay Garbasz

Overview:

Optimal delivery of WORKSHOP 1: POWER ANALYSIS is in two 2 hours sessions with a break for lunch. Delivering the workshop physically is preferred, but can be taught online. Since subject matter may become personal and traumatic in the course of the workshop, safer space protocols MUST be introduced before the workshop begins to minimize and mitigate trauma responses.

Safer Space Policy – 10 minutes

Review safer space policy with students and provide several options if anyone becomes triggered or feels unsafe during the workshop.

1. Privilege Walk – 45 min

a. “Am I marginalized enough?”

b. Intersectionality

2. Power Analysis – 30 min

a. Embody entitlements

a. Amter in the Foreign Office

b. Straight White Christian German

c. Gallerist “brush off”

b. Who has rights? Who expects to have rights?

3. Common Attacks/Denials – 20 min

a. DARVO (deny, attack, reverse victim, oppressor)

b. Gaslighting

c. Harrassment

d. Micro Aggressions

BREAK – 1 hour

4. Attacks / Scripting Defenses – 30 min

a. Instinctual reactions vs. Reactions based on power analysis

5. Categories of Attack – 15 min

6. Harm Reduction – 30 min

a. Saying no

b. When saying no is not an option

7. Physical Activities – 30 min

8. Reflection – 15 min

1. SAFER SPACE POLICY

Teacher Notes

· This is a safer space policy because we acknowledge that you can never truly be safe.

· Relative privileges of any/all participants will come up in exercises in this curriculum.

· Those who experience the most oppressions may feel vulnerable or exposed by the personal nature of activities and discussion. Conversely, those who experience higher levels of relative privilege may become defensive in relating to other participants.

· Personal issues of oppression, abuse, and other violence may trigger traumatic responses in any given participant.

Read the following statement aloud to the group, and then allow participants to respond and discuss, adding their own ideas to foster a collaborative environment.

Safer Space Policy:

The goal of a Safer space is to create a respectful, understanding and kind space where people feel able to express themselves and ask questions without fear of reprisal or humiliation. Some of us experience different kinds of oppression & violence at the same time, including racism, disableism, poverty, transphobia, transmisogyny, homophobia, islamophobia and antisemitism, as well as others. These oppressions are not separate from each other which can be exhausting & painful. We want to create a space that recognises and challenges the oppression & exploitation that some of us are harmed by and some of us benefit from. Therefor we do not tolerate racism, discrimination, xenophobia, homo- and transphobia, harassment or bullying in any form.

You have demonstrated courage by attending this workshop. You have demonstrated willingness to learn resiliency in a world of relative privilege and oppression. Thank you for being here. We hope to create a safer space to learn than spaces you may have already tried. We all know that there is no such thing as a truly safe space when you are being oppressed.

If at any time you feel attacked, threatened, or triggered, please feel free to express this to the group and we will address your concerns with respect. Or, you may use any method to make yourself safe, such as leaving the classroom, closing your eyes, plugging your ears, or any other means of calming yourself down and feeling more safe. We ask that you all stay aware of each other’s safety as much as possible.

If you are having problems with one or more other participants in the workshop, please let the leader of the workshop know. We can address the problem directly through conflict resolution methods, or indirectly with other solutions depending on the situation. If your concerns cannot be addressed, this workshop curriculum can be shared, and classroom discussion can be recorded (depending on consent from others). We can find a way for you to benefit from the workshop even if you are not able to physically/digitally share space with another participant.

We will be discussing our own experiences of privilege and oppression in this workshop. But, we are not here to measure who among us is the most privileged and who among us is the most oppressed. Our goal is to develop defenses collaboratively against verbal, psychological, and physical attacks experienced by some, most, or all the workshop’s participants. If any participant is unwilling to work collaboratively with others or is here to disrupt or destroy the meaningful work we are doing, they will be asked to leave immediately. We are here because we need to help each other survive.

2. PRIVILEGE WALK

Background:

Teacher: Educators and activists use privilege walks as an experiential activity to highlight how people can be marginalized in different ways in our society. There are many versions of this exercise, though most focus on a single issue, such as race, gender, or sexuality. This privilege walk is designed with questions spanning many different areas of marginalization. People of shared demographics might move together for one question, but then separate due to other questions.

Goals:

· To understand intersectionality, or the way privileges and marginalizations intersect in every person experiencing oppression.

· To determine the effects of intersecting privileges and marginalizations.

· To avoid positive developments being derailed by debates over who is more oppressed.

· To become more aware of marginalization within wider marginalized groups.

· To debrief with suggested discussion questions in order to address any feelings of vulnerability that have come up during the exercise.

Instructions:

Have participants form a straight line across the room about an arm’s length apart, leaving space in front and behind.

Teacher: Listen to the following statements, and follow the instructions given. For example, when I read “If you are a white male, take one step forward,” only white males will move and everyone else will stand still. Each step should be an average length step. No one is going to check up on you, so if you feel you qualify to take a step then do so, if not then you may stay where you are. You are the judge of what you should do.

Read each statement aloud and allow time for participants to step forward or backward.

1. If you right-handed, take one step forward.

2. If you were ever bullied for something you could not change, take one step back.

3. If you are CIS (gender aligns with dictated gender at birth), take one step forward.

4. If people speak for you when you don’t want them to do so, take one step back.

5. If you can find band-aids at mainstream stores that designed to blend in with or match your skin tone, take one step forward.

6. If you are not a citizen of the country you live in, Take one step back.

7. Have you ever had to rely on “alternative economies“ to survive (shoplifting; sex work; informal work; other “illegal” activities), take one step back.

8. If you Are treated the same as your co-workers or colleagues, take one step forward.

9. If you did not attend high school, take one step back.

10. If you have visible or invisible disabilities, take one step back.

11. If you have access to housing on a regular base, take one step forward.

12. If while growing up your family had enough food, take one step forward.

13. If as an adult you have experienced food insecurity extended periods, take one step back.

14. If you are often the only the only person of your race/gender/socio-economic status/sexual orientation/disability status in classrooms or workplace settings, take one step back.

15. If you have access to healthcare, take one step forward. If that healthcare covers most of your needs, take another step forward.

16. If your minority status (such as being trans, fat, disabled, etc) was more important to the care provider then your actual health issue/s or you were refused care due to your minority status, take one step back.

17. If you have been verbally harassed in a public space, take one step back.

18. If you have been physically attacked in a public space, take one step back.

19. If you have an expectation not to be harmed when police get involved, take one step forward.

20. If you can use public bathrooms corresponding to your gender without fear of violence, take one step forward.

21. If you are not bothered by the portrayal of people with similar identities to you in the media, take one step forward.

22. If people ask you about your genitals (or other personal things related to your identity) against your will, take one step back.

23. If you are able to take time off for your religious holidays, take one step forward.

24. If you ever tried to change your appearance, mannerisms, or behavior to fit in, take one step back.

25. If you have ever economically or socially benefitted from your association with a friend or family member, take one step forward.

26. If someone in your household or close family suffered/suffers from mental illness or substance abuse, take one step back.

27. If neither of your parents went to college, take one step back.

28. If you went to college, take one step forward.

29. If you have more than fifty books in your household, take one step forward.

30. If German is your first language, take one step forward.

31. If your parents or family would be able to financially support you if you were going through hardships, take one step forward.

32. If you are a survivor of sexual violence, take one step back.

Reflection:

Have participants reflect on the exercise by discussing the questions below, either in from their relative standing positions or back in their seats. Make sure each participant is physically comfortable so they can properly reflect on the exercise.

What is your “gut reaction” to where you find yourself at the end of this list of privileges?

Are you surprised at where you are?

How does it feel to be in front? In the middle? In back?

Did you come to any new realizations? If so, which one had the most impact?

Allow participants to discuss their personal reactions to the exercise and address any triggers/traumatic responses openly in a safe space.

3. POWER ANALYSIS / REVERSE WALK

Background:

Teacher: The privilege walk only analyzes one half of relationships with powerful people: you. The other half is more difficult. Now we need to get a sense of the privilege and entitlement of powerful people who might wish to exploit or attack you. We will do theater exercises to define the features of privilege. What does it mean to be a majority? What does it mean to have the whole world designed especially for you?

Goals:

· To analyze power imbalances in professional, personal, and social settings.

· To show how oppression takes many forms in different power relationships.

· To define common tactics of oppression in the art world.

· To recognize and avoid time wasters and giving free labor.

· To become more aware of who has rights and who expects rights in professional, personal, and social contexts.

Instructions:

1. Individual experiences of oppression are nearly impossible to prove. Often, people rely on personal experiences and anecdotes to form their opinions. But with statistics it is more easily proven.

INSERT: relevant single-issue inequity charts, such as:

2. The major flaw in statistics is that the intersections of race and gender are not yet tracked. As we saw in this morning’s first exercise, there are many ways to be marginalized. When you more than one of these difficulties, they compound. This means that each problem becomes worse. The intersection itself creates more problems for you.

Teacher: Now let’s play out some scenarios. Think about situations where bias (as proven by statistics) is present, but where bias cannot be proven legally. These are attacks, but they are all perfectly legal. I’ll start with an example. A rich filmmaker has approached me with a work-for-hire offer, or so I expected. This filmmaker actually assumes that I will work for free, due to their notoriety and fame. Who would like to play the rich filmmaker?

Sample script:

TEACHER: Thank you for this opportunity, but I have a few questions.

FILMMAKER: You’re welcome. Questions? About what?

TEACHER: Will I be paid up front, or when the work is completely a few months from now? I need to know because—

FILMMAKER: —You want to be paid?? Oh shit. Really? I can’t do that.

TEACHER: Why not?

FILMMAKER: I can’t afford it right now.

Ask for more suggestions from the workshop participants. When possible, have the students themselves play the powerful people. The teacher can step in as the “attacked” artist. This may be necessary to avoid triggers. No student should “attack” another student unless they are both comfortable with the improvised scene. These scenes can be cathartic for many, since they are occupying the shoes of their oppressors. But please ensure students’ safety during these exercises. Prompt students to act out these different scenes. Point out power imbalances as they occur.

If students have trouble generating examples of power imbalances and “attacks” that cannot be legally proven, pick from this list of examples:

An Ampter of the German government denying a citizenship inquiry.

A German citizen in charge of schvabland in your apartment building forcing you to do labor you cannot perform.

A rich person at Starbucks shoving their way to the front of the line and complaining about a wrong order.

A fellow artist with vast resources but a victimization complex.

After the exercises, have students take their seats and review what they have observed about the “missing half” of the power analysis.

Write the following questions on the board, or simply ask them aloud. Prompt participants to volunteer the first things that come into their heads and keep track of responses on the board or in your notes.

What does it mean to be a majority?

What does it mean to have the whole world designed especially for you?

Now revisit the rich filmmaker example. Say: What if this filmmaker was a close friend or colleague? What if this filmmaker was similarly oppressed? What if they had no resources and asked you for free labor? Would your answers change?

Discuss with the group how and when to bring up money/payment in conversations with powerful people. Also, discuss how everything you do is free labor until you are paid. Have students discuss the question: When are you willing to do free labor for someone else?

Reflection:

What are some examples of power imbalances?

Why is it important to analyze the power imbalances of relationships in the art world?

How do powerful people think about payment, contracts, and money in general?

Did you come to any new realizations? If so, what had the most impact?

Allow participants to discuss their personal reactions to the exercise and address any triggers/traumatic responses openly in a safe space.

4. ATTACKS AND DEFENSES

Background:

Teacher: Now that we’re getting a sense of existing power imbalances in the art world and our society, let’s begin the work of defending ourselves. Defending ourselves can be a difficult, and even impossible task. If a powerful person threatens to ruin your career, how can you defend yourself? Sometimes we are unable to directly defend ourselves and so we must create indirect ways of defending yourself and surviving when your safety is threatened. However, coming up with lists of common attacks and defenses can help us remain safe while confronting the imbalances of power relationships.

Goals:

· To define attacks and exploitations we may experience in the art world.

· To collaboratively develop strategies for defense against powerful people.

· To embody the roles of powerful people and explore their perspective.

· To examine circumstances where direct defense is impossible and discuss possible solutions.

· To debrief with suggested discussion questions and to address any issues that have come up during the exercises.

Instructions:

1. Individual experiences of oppression are nearly impossible to prove. Having more than one kind of marginalization makes this worse. Our task now is to define these attacks to the best of our ability. Here are some examples of attacks:

Microaggressions. Subtle attacks that can be physical (body/hair touching) verbal (inappropriate questions) social (shaming) and psychological (the “brush off”)

Gaslighting. Convincing someone that a conflict or aggression is “all in your head”

DARVO (Deny / Attack / Reverse Victim / Oppressor). A common set of tactics used together, apart, or in sequence to shift the aggressor’s thinking so that they feel victimized by you and not the other way around

2. Now we will break up into small groups to brainstorm different kinds of attacks, and what you might be able to do to defend yourself. Discuss attacks you have heard of, have experienced, or attacks that you are thinking about now. If you are comfortable to share your own experiences, please do so.

NOTE: If at this time it seems appropriate to revisit the SAFER SPACE policy, do so before breaking up into groups

As small groups are talking, ask or write down prompting questions that come to mind, for example: Is this an attack or a ‘type’ of attack? What type of attack is ______?

Bring the groups back together. As a whole group, discuss the categories and types of attacks that have been generated, and the defenses that correspond to each. Remind the group that no defense will be perfect, and sometimes it is impossible to defend yourself.

Reflection:

What have we learned about powerful people and their perspectives?

Does defending yourself sometimes make the situation worse? Why or why not?

Based on what we have learned about powerful people, what are some good strategies for defending yourself?

Did you come to any new realizations about powerful people and their perspectives? If so, what had the most impact?

Allow participants to discuss their personal reactions to the exercise and address any triggers/traumatic responses openly in a safe space.

5. DEFENSE SCRIPTING

Background:

Teacher: Defending yourself against attacks, exploitations, and time wasters is crucial to keep yourself safe. However, many situations do not allow for direct responses to attacks. Therefore, we need to come up with indirect ways to protect yourself. This includes all the work we’ve done so far: analyzing the power imbalance you are dealing with, preparing defenses for yourself that work, and ultimately deciding whether or not encounters are worth your time and your vulnerability. But more than that, we need to discuss methods of personal and group resilience in the face of attacks that cannot be directly dealt with.

Goals:

· To define situations in which direct defense is impossible, and to generate solutions.

· To define personal and group resilience and mutual aid.

· To write defense scripts against common attacks in the art world.

· To recognize and avoid time wasters and giving free labor.

· To analyze the types of defenses possible in both public and private attacks.

· To debrief with suggested discussion questions and to address any issues that have come up during the exercise.

Instructions:

Individual experiences of oppression are nearly impossible to prove.

Reflection:

What are the similarities between different kinds of powerful people? What are the differences?

Are you willing to give anyone free labor? Why or why not?

How do powerful people think about payment, contracts, and money in general?

Did you come to any new realizations? If so, which one had the most impact?

Allow participants to discuss their personal reactions to the exercise and address any triggers/traumatic responses openly in a safe space.

6. CATEGORIES FOR ATTACKS

Background:

Teacher: The privilege walk only analyzes one half of relationships you have with powerful people: you. The other half is more difficult. Now we need to get a sense of the privilege and entitlement of powerful people who might wish to exploit or attack you. We will do theater exercises to define the features of privilege. What does it mean to be a majority? What does it mean to have the whole world designed especially for you?

Goals:

· To categorize different types of attacks we experience in the art world.

· To identify attacks before they happen and as they happen, rather than later on.

· To define common tactics of oppression in the art world.

· To recognize and avoid time wasters and giving free labor.

· To debrief with suggested discussion questions and to address any issues that have come up during the exercise.

Instructions:

Individual experiences of oppression are nearly impossible to prove.

Reflection:

What are the similarities between different kinds of powerful people? What are the differences?

Are you willing to give anyone free labor? Why or why not?

How do powerful people think about payment, contracts, and money in general?

Did you come to any new realizations? If so, which one had the most impact?

Allow participants to discuss their personal reactions to the exercise and address any triggers/traumatic responses openly in a safe space.

7. HARM REDUCTION

Background:

Teacher: By now, we have categorized attacks, written scripts for defensive tactics, and analyzed our relationships with powerful people in the art world. We have found that in some situations, direct defense is impossible. We have defined personal and network resiliency, but we haven’t yet talked about the practical nature of these concepts. Something as simple as scheduling a phone call with a friend before or after meeting a powerful person can make a huge difference in how we handle being constantly attacked. Harm reduction is a term that describes this. Unfortunately, we will continue to be harmed by powerful people throughout our lives. But by taking active steps in reducing the harm done to you, you are giving yourself and your community a better chance to survive.

Goals:

· To analyze and define personal and group resiliency in the face of consistent attacks.

· To define and demonstrate tactical harm reduction in the art world.

· To recognize and avoid time wasters and giving free labor.

· To generate and develop strategies for personal and group resiliency.

· To debrief with suggested discussion questions and to address any issues that have come up during the exercise.

Instructions:

Individual experiences of oppression are nearly impossible to prove.

Reflection:

What are the similarities between different kinds of powerful people? What are the differences?

Are you willing to give anyone free labor? Why or why not?

How do powerful people think about payment, contracts, and money in general?

Did you come to any new realizations? If so, which one had the most impact?

Allow participants to discuss their personal reactions to the exercise and address any triggers/traumatic responses openly in a safe space.

8. REFLECTION

Background:

Teacher: Thank you for taking part in this workshop. Now we are going to discuss what we have learned and how we reacted to different topics and tactics. Remember, all reactions are valid. Every one of us lives with trauma and may respond to triggers while doing this important work. As a group, it is essential that we recognize and respect each other’s perspectives. Otherwise, the group resilience that we defined in the last module cannot be sustained. It is as simple as this: everyone in this room has intersectional experiences of oppression, and these intersections are ultimately personal and unique. But the more we are able to recognize and respect the experiences of others, the more group resiliency we can sustain against powerful oppressors.

Goals:

· To reflect on our work today in honest and respectful discussion.

· To reaffirm the need for group resiliency in the face of mutual oppression.

· To validate each other’s experiences and improve personal resiliency.

· To discuss and critique this workshop and its methods, for the sake of improving the curriculum for others.

Instructions:

Individual experiences of oppression are nearly impossible to prove.