Author: Rachel Seoighe

The Flow.Walk.Drag. team has given careful thought to the principles and ethical approach of the project. As a participatory project, co-created with multiple collaborators, including workshop participants recruited in Margate and Liverpool, we are attentive to our responsibilities to our co-creators and the communities we work in. 

Our project centres joy and play, using drag and creative participatory methods. Yet we are exploring difficult topics that have the potential to evoke distress among those we work with. FWD’s themes may evoke disgust, anger and other difficult emotions, and may generate conflict and backlash as we explore themes of contagion, pollution, exclusion, and our relationships with microorganisms. Working with people as collaborators and co-creators is always a complex process, as we navigate a range of needs, perspectives and expectations, and respond to issues that arise. 

To do this work with care and integrity, we have established an ethics infrastructure for the project which includes a Code of Ethics and an Advisory Board. This infrastructure guides our work, setting out principles and processes that act as ethical coordinates, helping us to think through our approach to every element of the project and to respond to issues as they arise. 

Our final workshop focused on themes of movement – moving together and creating movement. The group gathered in CAMP on Margate’s Northdown Road for snacks and drinks before walking to the Southern Water Pumping Station, a 40-minute walk along the coast. The high wind dominated the experience, reminding us of a key principle of the project: to be humble and in awe of nature. As we walked, we talked about the sea foam, complex feelings of (dis)ease and being un(safe) in the water, and the clarity of light that made visible the wind turbines off the coast. 

Our Flow.Walk.Drag. co-creators gathered on a cold Saturday afternoon at Margate’s People Dem Collective HQ. Sharing ginger tea and vegan buns, we dipped our toes into deep conversations about our relationships with the sea, the everydayness of sewage pollution, local ecologies and activist strategies. 

The workshop began with an introduction from the Flow.Walk.Drag team. They spoke about the purpose of the project, pointed co-creators towards the live ethics document and offered recent (shocking) data about sewage releases by Southern Water. They introduced E. coli – describing the microbe’s key characteristics, its impact on human bodies (positive and negative) and contributions to science and ecology and asked questions like ‘is E. coli misunderstood?’ 

The group took some time to imagine ourselves as microbes, playfully imagining what our microbial characteristics would be and the conditions we would need to thrive. One co-creator would be a mossy multi-tasker with multiple hands, thriving in the freshness of the lungs. Another would be a hot, sweaty, shy little microbe, always the last to leave the party. Others were characterised by their faith in collective action, inspired by mycelium and collective care. Rest, recharging and hibernation were important for some, and some would be catalysts for action. Life spans ranged from 2-3 weeks (short and sweet) to forever. One microbe was actually ‘the oldest.’