Morgan Harper Nichols on Embracing Change and Finding Belonging

Navigating Creative Transitions

• 📌 The feeling of a creative practice or platform no longer feeling like home is a common experience, especially as spaces and tools evolve.
• 💡 When familiar tools feel clumsy or a medium feels like an "itchy sweater," it signals a need to navigate these transitions.
• 🚀 Morgan Harper Nichols, poet and visual artist, joins the discussion to explore how to find belonging amidst change.

Rethinking Systems and Technology

• 🧠 The conversation touches on simulation theory and the idea that societal structures are human-made constructs, not inherent truths.
• 🛠️ There's a critique of "smart" technology that lacks transparency, contrasting it with the human need to "show our work" and understand processes.
• 💡 The concept of going back to basics, like building with Legos or understanding fundamental conflict resolution, is presented as a way to rebuild societal structures.
• 🌐 The "black box" nature of AI and social media algorithms is discussed, highlighting a struggle with not understanding how these systems arrive at their outputs.

The "Reverse Move" in Creativity

• 🔄 A key theme is the "reverse move" – a subversive or alternative approach to current trends, exemplified by choosing slower, in-depth projects over constant online content creation.
• 📼 The embrace of older formats like DVDs or internet radio is seen as a way to reclaim agency and experience, rather than solely pursuing future-oriented efficiency.
• 🎨 Artists are encouraged to explore what they hate or are against as a way to hack their negativity bias and define their creative values, rather than solely focusing on what they love.
• 🎭 This "reverse move" can involve subverting expectations, like choosing to be in a library rather than on Instagram Live, or creating a physical blog instead of relying solely on ephemeral digital platforms.

Finding Authentic Belonging

• 🗺️ The idea of collecting elements from one's journey, like postcards, is a metaphor for integrating past experiences into present creative work without succumbing to mere nostalgia.
• 💡 Artists are encouraged to tap into forgotten truths or timeless elements rather than solely focusing on reinvention or the "now."
• 🏡 True belonging is found not necessarily in the most popular or "cool" spaces, but in places where one feels most free and authentic, even if those are less conventional.
• 🗣️ Naming what bothers you about current platforms or trends is crucial for understanding your creative direction and making intentional choices about where and how to share your work.

Embracing Gratitude and Advocacy

• 🙏 It's important to balance gratitude for opportunities with the ability to advocate for oneself and say "no" to exploitative or misaligned situations.
• ⚖️ Artists are allowed to have complaints and gratitude simultaneously, recognizing that conflict is often the beginning of a story.
• 💡 The "five senses of belonging" exercise is introduced as a practical tool to identify attractive sensory experiences that can prompt new creative directions and shake up stagnant practices.