THE TEAMS
BREAKPOINT
Artist: Starlitt Miller
Business owner: Lisa Barrett
Philosophers: Austin Gray
Big question: Is Our Body Just A Bag of Flesh?
A Philosophy & Movement Activation
When do you feel your body the most—when it’s in your way or when it’s helping you move through the world? This activation invites participants to explore a timeless philosophical tension: Are we trapped in our body? Is it a burden? Or is the body a vital part of who we are? Drawing from the wisdom of embodied philosophy and somaesthetics, participants will be guided through a series of gentle, thoughtful movement-based experiences—designed to deepen our awareness of the ways our embodiment underlies our lived experience and explore practical techniques for improving our ability to recognize our body in its living aspects. Through exercises such as mirrored movement, breath and sound integration, and philosophically suggestive improvisation (“Move as if your body is a container…now move as if it’s your essence”), this activation brings abstract ideas into lived experience.
This is not a fitness class. It’s not about flexibility or form. It’s about feeling your way into the question. Come as you are—curious, tired, grounded, aching—leave more connected to the body you live in every day.
#MindBody #Emboidment #MovementMatters #PhilosophyInMotion #LivingBody
SUNRISE ARTISAN BATH & BODY
Artist: Dogon Krigga
Business owner: Tzima Brown
Philosophers: Joseph Erickson
Big question: What makes someone beautiful?
Philosopher Joseph Erickson and Artist Dogon Krigga are creating an activation that explores personal perspectives on beauty and appearance. Participants are invited to sit for a brief interview with Joseph where he asks questions about how they perceive themselves, personal beauty standards, and the role beauty and appearance plays in society. During the interview, snapshots of the participants' faces will be taken and turned into digital collages, made on-site by Dogon. These images will be shared on a dedicated projector screen during the event after party. Additionally, a soap-carving station will be set up where participants are invited to make carved images of themselves, or each other using mirrors, carving tools, and soap blocks provided by Sunrise.
BOYD INNOVATION CENTER (POWERED BY GROWCO)
Artist: Shabnam Miri
Business owner: GrowCo
Philosopher: Matt Kisner
Big question: Is perspective everything?
Our activation is a meditation on perspective and how it shapes what we know. Participants can interact with (and even enter inside of!) an art installation that challenges viewers with changing perspectives. The on-site philosopher will challenge viewers to determine what in our knowledge—if anything—does not depend on our various perspectives: our perspective in space and time, our cultural and historical perspective, and the perspective afforded by our personal histories and beliefs.
GOOD FOR THE SOLE
Artist: Carol Brady
Business owner: Kelly Tabor
Philosopher: Tori Hui
Big question: Is perspective everything?
We all want the truth — but getting there isn’t always simple. Between fake news, half-truths, and the echo chambers built by our favorite algorithms, it’s easy to get lost. And sometimes, our own perspectives — the ones we’re born with — quietly shape what we believe to be real. In this event, we’ll play with perception, test our instincts, and laugh at how easily we can all be fooled. But more importantly, we’ll learn to look closer, think sharper, and keep chasing the truths together!
Two games:
1) Interactive Art Installation Proposal: “Whose Truth?”
An interactive installation where participants uncover different fragments of the same truth.
2) What Is Real?
Nine pictures with illustrations for people to tell which one is real.
SID AND NANCY
Artist: Mitra Kavandi
Business owner: Heather Craig Burns
Philosopher: Leye Komalafe
Big question: How can we create meaning in a fragmented world?
We live in a time marked by deep social and ideological divides. These divides include politics, identity, belief, culture, and faith. These fractures shape our sense of belonging and connection, leaving us to navigate a world that often feels disjointed. Yet even within this fragmentation, we continue to search for meaning, authenticity, and connection. This artwork invites participants to explore how meaning can be created through reflection and shared experience. The installation consists of about 160 ceramic tiles created by Mitra Kavandi.
Each tile bears a philosophical question connected to our Big Question. Participants are invited to select a tile, read its question, and take a moment to think or converse about it. After reflecting, they attach their piece to a shared base using thin metal wires. The wires connect the pieces, symbolically linking individual reflections into a collective form. As more participants engage and contribute, the structure transforms and takes on new shapes.
The work becomes a living metaphor for the search for meaning in a divided world. The point being that meaning is not something we find ready-made, it is something we create together through attention, participation, and the act of connecting across difference. The beauty of this interactive creation lies in its open-endedness. It is not predetermined. It will evolve based on everyone’s participation. This is, therefore, connected to our big question. The final form can be displayed either hanging from the ceiling or placed on a table.
BLUETILE
Artist: Jen Ray
Business owner: David Toole
Philosopher: Carter Weinstein
Big question: Why is community important?
We’re creating an activation of the concept of Mutual Aid- “Solidarity, not charity.”
Old donated skateboard decks will be set up assembly-line style, with the community invited to join in rehabilitating them. When finished, these will be distributed to children in need.
There will be multiple ways to help- sanding, decorating with paint and stencils, adding grip tape, and installing hardware, etc. Participants will choose their favorite element to work on, doing as little or as much as they like. We’ll have helpers, music, snacks, and drinks- a really fun and communal atmosphere to help the participants realize the ways that their participation, no matter how small, are essential for our community to thrive.
THE FOUNTAIN
Artist: Adam Corbett
Business owner: Five Points
Philosophers: Sarah Pressman
Big question: Why do we play?
Join us in exploring the importance of play in our lives! Play is usually thought of as childish, but we want to consider the value and meaning it brings to all of our lives. Help us contemplate play by participating in our community art piece! Visitors will be invited to interact with the artist and philosopher to create their own part of the landscape of “play land,” our community art project.