Movement Research is what I started calling my work, now about five years ago, when I realized that that’s simply what it is about. I was wondering about what is movement, what does it do? How do we experience it, how do we feel it, how do we categorize it? What is the difference and relation to mobility? And how are these questions relevant to socio-political transformations, to what’s happening in the world, to the social changes in our urban city environments?
Since 2008, I have been researching on how movement and mobility are best understood as processes of communication. My projects have taken me from working on hunter-gatherer migration in Central Africa, to projects in Europe with dancers, movement meditation practitioners, castellers (builders of human towers), bodyworkers and fascia specialists. I have become inspired by various ideas, but mostly by the concept of motility, which refers to the capacity for movement. It’s a transdisciplinary way to approach human mobility, drawing on urban mobilities and dance theory, and it’s all about thinking what happens before we can see movement; about the motivations, inspirations, dreams, all the invisible sensations that occur before we move, or decide not to move.
Thinking about the before, means perceiving-thinking the creative capacity of time and movement in a different way. And that’s how it becomes powerful, political, creative, and relevant to all the exciting things that are happening in the world. It becomes the way to generate and shape capacities for change before they actualize.
Before I worked as a researcher, I ran an internal communications department for a multinational company. Part of my job was planning and organising vision and change management projects, which are all about changing attitudes and the before of communication. So on some days, I feel I have always been working on ‘movement research’; it’s what I love, and what I hope to continue doing. It’s my fascination and my way of making the world a more inspiring and creative place.
I’m adding this blog to my website to share details about my work and inspirations, and how they can be applied in transdisciplinary fields. For those who want to discover more, my projects page gives you an overview of my works and collaborations, including my long term interests interculturality, sensorial awareness, and fascia, our bodily connective tissue.
Please message with any questions or your ides, or join the growing movement research community on facebook.