BARTALK curators James Parnell and Yun Lee have been giving a workshop on collective organising and coalition-building, pulling from their working methods and experiences as organisers of BARTALK.

Navigating differences within work environments and communities can be difficult. In many community organising spaces, there is an assumption that we hold the same politics, visions, and ideas. When proven wrong, these assumptions can lead to fractures and distrust.

This workshop is about coalition building, and exploring and honouring differences between and within unlikely partnerships. We will share historical and contemporary examples of coalition building, discuss problems we face when organising collectively, and through various exercises, practice coming up with projects with new collaborators, and seeing how our differences can strengthen the projects we work on together. 

The workshop lasts 1-3 days and involves:

• Presentation on coalitions
• Collective brainstorming on issues that come up with working in groups
• Identifying working styles and the friction caused by these differences
• Speed dating with different participants to find intersecting interests and working style compatibility
• Brainstorming possible collaborations between strangers
• Finding collective values 
• Conflict Arena game