School in Common/curriculu/a school (is a school, is a _)

A talk with Helsinki based initiativ Trojan Horse co-hosted by the Graphic design & Illustration department (GFI) at Konstfack followed by a LARP workshop at Candyland

Talk:
15. March 2019
Konstfack, Stockholm

Workshop:
16. March 2019
Candyland, Stockholm

Talk:
In the talk three members of the Trojan Horse (Danai, Kaisa and Tommi) presented the structure, strategy and educational methods of the Trojan Horse. They also reflected on the theme of their latest summer school ‘the choreography of money’ and told us about their recent role-play projects and a publication they are working on. The lecture was in a discussion format in English and open for everyone.

Workshop:
A LARP (Live Action Role-Play) experiment hosted by Helsinki based initiative Trojan Horse. LARPs are part of their ongoing practice-based research on role-playing as a research method in the fields of design and architecture. This session focused on the connections and interdependencies between positions, roles, education and capital.

LARP FAQ BY TROJAN HORSE:

WHAT IS LIVE ACTION ROLE-PLAYING?
Live Action Role-Play; LARP, is a critical play for a first person audience. In a LARP players relate to a fictional world from the first person perspective of a fictional character. The process of larping together generates a temporary community, a game world. The game can portray an imaginable world or society, and can be used as a tool for studying questions such as what kind of a world is possible, what the world should or could be like – and what our world actually is like.

The great thing about role-playing is that you are acting as someone other than yourself. In the game we can safely fail, try out things that we would avoid in real life and be more adventurous, receptive and open-minded. We don’t need to fear the consequences of failure which we hope could open the door for a space for exploration.

IT SOUNDS INTERESTING, BUT ALSO VERY SCARY. WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE ANY PRIOR EXPERIENCE OF PERFORMING?
Don’t worry. None of us is a “professional” performer, nor a LARPer. Let’s get together and try it out.

WHY DO WE ORGANIZE THIS?
The role-play is organized because we feel it gives us as designers a chance to reflect on what we are and what we do. It’s a good way to break the circle of serious work, professional consensus and relate to design in a more playful way.

WHAT DOES SCIENCE FICTION GOT TO DO WITH DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE?
In our opinion there is not much difference between design, architecture and science fiction. They are all forms of world building. Because design and architecture are based on real needsthey are considered practical in nature. We do not find this distinction between design and architecture / science fiction relevant, nor necessary. We feel that it is even dangerous to forget the imaginary potential of any design and/or architectural project or practice.

IS THERE SOMETHING I COULD READ IF I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT ROLE-PLAYING? There is this very interesting book about the nordic larp scene. And also this manifesto, and this article about Bertolt Brecht, defamiliarisation and criticality.

Borrowing Positions: Role-Playing Design & Architecture is a speculative book which reflects on the design- and architecture-centred LARPs (Live Action Role-Plays) organized by the Trojan Horse collective. You can buy the book currently from Kosminen in Helsinki, Lugemik bookshop in Tallinn, online from Khaos publishing and by directly emailing Trojan Horse at info@trojanhorse.fi.

Trojan Horse
is an autonomous educational platform based in Helsinki. They organizes summer schools, live-action role-plays, workshops and reading circles exploring the boundaries and preconditions that define the field where architects, designers, and artists operate today.Trojan Horse aims to create flexible yet steady structures that support critical design discourses over a longer time span while remaining open for cross-pollination and changes.