What the Dada Nouveau Society is...
and is not
(jump to sections:)
We're a community, but not a membership or meet-up network.
We have a series of events and meetings, but are not a workshop.
IT'S SIMPLE, REALLY.
But entire generations of people are now being raised without these once well-established ideas of community. The global nomad, TikTok, and COVID generations may have never experienced a basis of physical community at all! To some people, family means betrayal. To others, having friends means masking to fit in. Education and skills may be only for the privileged. For some, religious community means manipulation and abuse. And for many, "doing a thing with people" is just downright terrifying!
So we're here to make some clear definitions and distinctions about what community means to us. It might be a little wordy, but we want everyone to feel comfortable in knowing what to expect when you show up.
MEET-UPS & WORKSHOPS... BUT DIFFERENT
Welcome to the Dada Nouveau Society!
We are a space to meet and connect with new people, but we've narrowed it down into niche interests and personalities (deep thinkers, creative types, highly sensitive people, even introverts!) so you don't have to wade through hours of small talk and clashing personalities. And we strive to take networking a step further: don't leave when our meeting is over; stick around, talk, form relationships, and swap contact info! Let's get together mid-week! Let's continue this conversation via phone, chat, or a picnic in the park!
We're here to share our serious side, and our silly side, our extrovert and our introvert, our confidence and our anxiety, all in one place, and dive right into our humanity and authenticity.
We also have activities, hobbies, and creative collaborations, but we freely share what we have and know; it's not a time for paid workshops or tuition fees. (Though many of our members may offer their workshops and services outside of our meetings!)
You can be a shy observer and listener for as long as you want, but we strive to make you feel safe and welcome to come out of your shell, and build social interaction and self-expression into your lifestyle.
MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKING & STORY-TELLING... BUT DIFFERENT
Welcome to the Dada Nouveau Society!
In the DNS, some meetings may center on the theme of a single speaker's story or lecture. But beyond inviting an audience to just listen, like, and share, we encourage deeper discussions, personal relationships, social connection, feedback, and inspiration to tell our own stories. We want to be more Q&A and roundtable discussion than a presentation.
We seek to blur the line between speaker/audience, teacher/student, preacher/congregation, professional/consumer, and create a community of equal discussion and participation.
This is one of the reasons the DNS will start small and registration will be limited, until we organically find a balanced path to growth: we want everyone to have a chance to be involved in the conversation, and we will strive to learn how to balance rules of order and respect with spontaneous, authentic expression.
For centuries, tribes and clans, families and communities operated this way, around a campfire or Grandma's kitchen. The DNS wants to take it out of the modern virtual and coaching spaces and put it back into reality!
OPEN MIC & PUBLIC GALLERY... BUT DIFFERENT
Welcome to the Dada Nouveau Society!
We are a place to share our artistic interests and work out all the kinks of stage fright, fear of rejection, and anxiety over public reception. The DNS is a safe place to be bad at the arts but do it anyway, to celebrate the learning process, or even be a prodigy who wants to practice without the publicity. We celebrate and appreciate each other, which may or may not help us step out into personal, public, or professional opportunities. You decide!
It's also a little different in that we invite people to share their art as an offering of personal reflection, not as an audition, talent showcase, portfolio, demo reel, or self-marketing. The DNS is an intentional space for ALL people to share in ALL of the creative conversation and social interaction as a community. This means we ask that the artist participants come to engage in the full discussion, not to just put on their show and then leave without engaging in the community.
WHAT THE DNS IS and IS NOT:
It IS an open-minded community of people who enjoy spending time together.
It IS just a bunch of creative and eclectic friends hanging out.
It IS NOT an organized social club, program, or affiliate of any association or institution.
It IS a place for humans to exist, socialize, and express creatively.
It IS NOT a personal development workshop or defined membership with any guaranteed outcome or benefits, though personal and communal growth is always encouraged!
It IS for ages 18 and over.
It IS NOT an "adult" community; however, as we open up to sensitive topics, we want to honor the age of consent and protect vulnerable children from confusion, coercion, and indoctrination. Special exceptions may be made for specific events with parental consent.
It IS in the English language. With some Dada jibberish thrown in.
It IS NOT an ideal place for small talk or basic language skills practice, though we certainly celebrate linguistics and diversity. We want to go deep into the arts, psychology, and philosophy, which should be supported by proficient vocabulary. (Special events may have exceptions.)
It IS a space to be open-minded, vulnerable, to facilitate the discovery and expression of your authentic self, and to practice being your authentic creative self in the presence of, and interaction with, a community.
It IS a place where you may find yourself triggered by differing viewpoints.
It IS a place where each individual is encouraged to take responsibility for cultivating their own inner compass and boundaries.
It IS NOT therapy, a recovery program, or in any way a certified or accredited methodology for mental or physical health. Guests are responsible for consulting with and following the medical advice of their own physicians and therapists. All guests must exercise self-regulation and communicate personal boundaries, and respect others’ emotions and boundaries. (Physical and mental health practices can certainly be a topic of discussion! We encourage cultivating the skills, but do not guarantee or take responsibility for teaching them.)
It IS a place of emotional, spiritual, philosophical, creative, and deep discussions. It is a safe place to discuss our feelings, emotions, dreams, desires, fears, and personal journeys, and to express ourselves creatively through art, music, dance, poetry, touch, etc.
It IS a place to listen with curiosity and observe without judgment in any time you are uncomfortable or unable to participate.
It IS NOT a place for conformity, coercion, or pressure to change.
It IS NOT a dating service, charity, social service, nor a place to take advantage of vulnerability. We hope to foster relationships of all kinds, but boundaries and consent are imperative and must be respected.
It IS a place to tell your story in your own creative way, and have it heard.
It IS NOT a place to violate privacy or share other’s stories and works without their consent.
It IS NOT an art gallery, talent agency, a hub for career-building, skill-mastery, marketing and advertising, or capitalizing. Of course, as we create and grow, we often find ways to advance personally, and share, exhibit, and network in the greater community, but this is not a guaranteed outcome nor should it be an expectation that we will generate any publicity, wider reach, or financial success. We are okay with staying small and private, impacting the world through a ripple effect from the individuals we hold in our community. (But neither do we have to limit ourselves when an opportunity arises (except to consent)!
It IS a place to help each other navigate shifting political, cultural, or religious beliefs and to express our personal ideas, doubts, convictions, and transformations.
It IS NOT a political movement, a religious community, a health and wellness ideology, or even a defined artistic movement. It is not a place to convince, convert, or coerce one another. Debates should be kept light, open-minded, informative, and curiosity-driven.
It IS a place to practice obligation-free community:
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We don’t charge fees; donations are only solicited as needed for space rental, and specified refreshments or collaborative materials. In-kind contributions will eliminate any monetary needs!
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We don’t judge unforeseen circumstances; while your RSVP is important for practical planning reasons, you are free to leave, cancel, or send a private message at any time, and you don’t need to feel anxious about it – just please communicate to the best of your ability!
It IS NOT a charity, life-coaching, legal aid, social assistance, or personal platform:
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All guests are encouraged to form personal relationships, within or without the community, to reach out for any help in getting practical needs met.
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We can only offer what we ourselves have to share; we give and take freely as life allows, and we all have boundaries.
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Participation is a valued contribution! As such, please respect others’ contributions and partake of them; do not only speak your own mind and share your own art without sticking around to listen, support, and encourage others. As much as we celebrate and encourage the individual, The Dada Nouveau Society is just that: a society; not a showcase, but a community; not a monologue, but a dialogue!
DADA NOUVEAU VS. NEO-DADA
The Dada Nouveau Society does not seek to revive the Dada movement or its manifestos as a mass protest against institutions, or even an artistic statement, but rather as a template for intimate social revolution, through personal revelation and connection. While leaving behind any of Dada’s substance abuse, egomania, misogyny, or public scandals, we do want to pay tribute to, and learn from, their free spirits, creative thinking, their outside-the-box solutions to life’s problems, and cultural and institutional commentary. We can critique the establishment without trying to tear it down; perhaps we can best diminish abuses of power by cultivating our own inner and community strength. We like to balance the harsh reality of the reactionary with the hope of the visionary.
The term “Nouveau” was specifically chosen to differentiate this vision from a “Neo-Dada” label, and to emphasize that, like the Art Nouveau movement that came before it, we are cognizant of form and function: psychologically, culturally, and personally, if not aesthetically. Art Nouveau was also provocative, wild, dynamic, and organic, but it still had some order, it still had some symmetry, and rather than being anti-everything, it feels pro-everything: pro-artistry, pro-beauty, pro-active, pro-humanity, pro-functionality. Dada Nouveau seeks connection and functionality in the human psychology and personality that has largely been labeled as dysfunctional in modern society.