How Akasha Collective Spread Love and Inclusiveness in 2020

The story of how a small collective navigated restrictions and change in their quest to encourage personal wellbeing and supportive communities

One winter night at the beginning of 2020, in a dimly-lit apartment located in Barcelona, a group of young people were gathered around a coffee table. Coming from various nationalities, backgrounds, and mother tongues, the biggest idea on their minds was creating a collective that would empower the community and encourage a stronger sense of wellbeing and personal growth in all of us. And so, Akasha Collective lay written on the main pages of what they thought will be a year full of face to face events and personal connection.

The values that kept us going

We knew from the beginning that we want to heal through creative expression, movement, and community. We were on a mission to befriend the environment and encourage everyone to be a part of its entourage. We share a vision of unity and progress through personal development, emotional reflection, education, and support. 

We believe in healing the self to heal the world. 

When 2020 turned out to be in dire need of care and affection, we didn’t hold back from these values. We met online and decided on how to continue the project and work for the community, who was feeling restless and worried. The events and achievements were a result of an open-minded and loving community. The solidarity projects of Colectivo Inclusivo and Bienestar en la Ciudad were the collaborative driving force of Akasha Collective.

The Healing of Our Collective

In person

Barcelona, the abundant, multicultural city we lived in, suffered on and off restrictions throughout 2020. We felt lucky that summer provided more opportunities to organise events outside. We organised and took part of :

1.The historical march for the “Black Lives Matter” movement in Barcelona

2020 was historical not only because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but for the uprising opposing racial inequality as well. We fully affirm and support this movement and marched in solidarity with so many others. This was a powerful and meaningful way to strengthen and connect with the community, as well as open the doors to many important conversations, events and actions.

2. Jam sessions with Culture Creativa in Parc de Ciutadella

Along with Chanti, the founder of Culture Creativa and our Akasha Collective mentor, we collaborated with the association to support the jam sessions every Sunday. The Jam Session was an open-mic cultural celebration which brought poets, artists, families and strangers together in unity and love. Surrounded by art, poetry workshops, vegan food and good vibrations, we were honoured to be a part of such an uplifting event and keep our community’s spirits high.

3. Photography skillshare Sessions

Our very own Nicola Falcinelli organised several community skill shares to teach the basics of analogue photography and encourage us to tune into the power of storytelling coming from photography. His passion led him to learn how to print using the cyanotype technique from the 18th century, which he also shared with the community in a small workshop. Nicola’s photography of the Black Lives Matter march was printed using this technique and displayed in a free art exhibition in Ciutadella Parc. The park was a hotspot for bringing people together during this challenging year.

4. “Little gardens” (Petit Jardinets) activities in the Poble Sec neighbourhood 

What better way to repay the environment than plant a new life? We collaborated with Boodaville and Trocasec associations in the barrio of Poble Sec to plant little gardens in the spaces outside some of the houses on Passeig de l’Exposició. We used recycled wood and hand-painted signs and contributed the plants, which some of the local children helped us to plant. This was a beautiful way to brighten up the street and give the gift of little gardens to the community, who in turn maintained and added plants. 

In-person workshops

Throughout the summer we were able to organise some (COVID compliant) workshops. Instead of being indoors, we gathered outside where possible for creative events such as Blackout poetry, Power up Poetry (Poetry for activism by Chanti) and hosted cosy women’s circles. It was important for us to create a safe environment for people to express their concerns or feelings about both their inner world and/or external surroundings.

1. Photography Exhibition in Atelier Guell

Following the photography skillshares and after witnessing the effects of the global pandemic on the city we call home,  we documented this using street photography. The creative process of simple street documentation by new and keen photographers was used to create an exhibition which also shared Nicola Falcinelli´s work called “Vida” . The exhibition highlighted some of the more deprived areas of the city and the effects of the pandemic, as well as shone a light of hope through effective storytelling.

Online

When the weather wasn’t so bright or we were asked to stay home, we turned to the screens in order to foster the community and create safe spaces for expression. We:

1. Held Online Women’s Circles 

Women’s circles celebrate a safe and courageous space in which women can reflect on, plan, and share their values, experience, doubts, and much more. With every full or new moon, we would meet for a couple of hours. One of the greatest aspects of online circles is that women from all over the world can join, thus extending our collective’s impact even further than the limits of Barcelona. We ‘held hands’, meditated, danced, wrote and shared our feelings, healed past wounds, spoke our truth, and shared love with our sisters. 

2. Yoga for Social Justice Workshop

Vianna, the creative and spiritual mind behind the project, held this safe space every week for 1 month. A 4 part series of weekly workshops where we explored themes of identity, inequality, racism, discrimination, privilege, justice, and how we place ourselves along these values. We combined self-awareness with breathing techniques, mindful movement, and aligned our actions with our beliefs to encourage self-care for sustainable activism and social change. The course will be re-run in the future for those who missed it.

3. Maranya Festival: Online Edition

Collaborating with Maranya Festivals online initiative to continue to spread the message and connect with our online community during lockdown. We got together to live-stream a series of workshops including meditation, Introduction to Regenerative Cultures with Anna Boodaville, Yoga for Social Justice and live DJ´s!

4. Akasha Collective: Community Skillshare Week

A week full of sharing, education, eye-opening revelation, life-changing habits, and renewed feelings of empathy. Starting with an in-person analogue photography workshop in Barcelona, it continued online with Plateonomics, where our community learned about sustainable eating habits and how to make conscious eating choices. Creatividad Emotional encouraged participants to self-reflect on the creative process using a playful activity, Slow-Fashion Masterclass exposed the truth about the fashion industry and what we can do about it. Finally, Lucid Dreaming gave the collective tips & tricks on how to take control of our dreams and the week finished with an in-person Women’s Circle held by Vianna. 

Moving forward

2020 may be close to ending, but we are nowhere near that. We will continue the work for healing through creativity, justice, and community. We still hold safe-spaces for women and minorities, we continue to educate on environmental issues and sustainability, we share feelings and take meaningful action towards a sustainable future for all. Our next move is launching the Akasha Collective Zine, where we keep everyone up to date with our work, as well as share useful information surrounding our values. 

Should you want to become a part of the Collective, join us on Instagram or send us an email at helloakashacollective@gmail.com.

The light in us honours the light in you. 

Thank you for reading and Namaste!