New Constellations

Bill is a futures thinker who had a career as a research manager in the computer industry before he and his colleagues came up with the Three Horizons framework (one of the most useful models to consider how to move from an ailing system to an emerging one). He lives in Wales where the glacial valleys and cragged tops are his laboratory for exploring how we connect our inner and outer knowledge for the benefit of humanity and our planet. We make a truth in how we live a life, he says. He shows us how to pattern hope through the simple means of awakening our awareness to the qualities of being and of being together in life. Made by Jo Barratt with Gemma Mortensen, Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud. Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend. Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Margaret twinkles, the sparkle of a full life exploring her two passions: political science, for which she is famed, and Aboriginal art. Growing up in Baltimore in the 1960s, Margaret was taken on civil rights marches as a young girl and she is still marching now. Margaret shows us how we are living through the declining years of neoliberalism. It is time to bring a new political and economic system into being, she says, as she explores what it would take to build one that ensures wellbeing for all. Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud. Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend. Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Lonnie carries the deep well of history in his sparkling eyes and the deep resonance of his voice. He uses history as a tool to give us a fuller picture of who we are so that we can grapple with our past. As founder of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture, Lonnie curated the story of the USA's – and many other countries’ – tortured racial past. He is now the first person of colour to act as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. We have to let this time of change seize us, he says, and be comfortable building on the unknown.  Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud. Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend. Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Poppy first saw a dead body at 27 when she decided to set up a funeral directors, one that helps us think differently about loss, grief and death. Death lurks in the shadows, haunting us. She works to bring death into clearer view;  bearing witness to lives that have ended and the emotions of those who are saying goodbye. This is heart work, she says.  Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud. Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend. Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Rob is a story-harvester, imagineer and sewer of inspiration, who collects and shares the chronicles of communities who have dared to ask ‘What If?’ and dared to do things differently. He lives with a ‘make your own’ spirit, spending time with people who are cracking on and building the future they dream of. A future that will fast be upon us. Things will change very fast, he says; we need to be planning for it.   Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud.  Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend. Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Geoff wonders what makes societies and institutions wise. Everything in our lives, he says, depends on systems beyond us. We depend on them for absolutely everything, our feelings and our thoughts. So what would a political philosophy look like that recognised our dependency on the world around us rather than asserting our sovereignty over it? Having studied as a Buddhist monk, worked in government and led NESTA, Geoff is now a Professor at UCL teaching and writing about the nature of collective intelligence.  Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud. Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend. Additional music played by Geoff Mulgan. Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

On a dark night in December 2020, 15 people from across Barrow joined a voyage to discover Barrow’s new stars – Barrow’s New Constellation. This is their story, of the place they love and how the people of Barrow can build a brighter future.  Made by Jo Barratt with Gemma Mortensen, Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud.  Music is made for Barrow’s New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend and Tom James Scott. Sound recordings of Barrow are by Tom James Scott, and students of Furness College. The wonderful crew who journeyed with us are Andrew Naylor, Beth Kirkby, Dean McSkimmings, Gemma McKell, Jay Zaccarini, John Murphy, Karen Mahaffy, Maddi Nicholson, Martin McLeavy, Natalie Chappels, Sam Plum, Sarah Arun, Sarah Jackson, Sharon Mullen and Tom Lowes. Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

adrienne communicates the power of vision. What would it take, she asks, to create a positive vision of the future that becomes our muscle memory; something so powerful that we act on it even when we are under pressure or when we are scared? She works with whatever is necessary to do that - words, pleasure, sci-fi, singing, birthing … to pose the question: “how do we relinquish power so that we can share it?”  Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud. Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend. Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Jane is a beautiful woman, light of voice and soul and steely of will and intention. Rod, her partner in love and work, has the magical ability to help young people return to themselves. As educators and storytellers, they work with cycles of nature to enable people to see and experience a deeper sense of self. They encourage people to return to a time there was no time, 14 billion years ago. The cosmic beginning. They work together in Global Generation, the organisation that Jane founded to explore our inner, outer and collective responsibilities to each other and the planet. Among many other things, Global Generation built the extraordinary Story Garden in Kings Cross, giving us a glimmer and a scent of a green urban utopia in the heart of London. Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud. Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend. Additional music by Rod Sugden. Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Aaron helps creative entrepreneurs break free from their past and set out on the journey of life before them. A celebrated social entrepreneur and arts educator, Aaron founded Sphinx to open up the world of classical music to young people of colour and was President Obama’s first nominee to the National Council on the Arts. The world is full of unfulfilled dreams, he says, so you have to put systems in place to achieve your goals. His secret is Star Trek.  Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud. Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend. Additional music is “The American Rhapsody, Symphonic Variations on an African Air, S. Coleridge-Taylor” by Aaron Dworkin and performed with the Sphinx Symphony. Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Charles writes to help us rediscover our relationship with the earth – the relationship which has made us the shape that we are. There is, he says, no seam between us and the wild. His writing and teaching draws on biology, anthropology, theology, archaeology, philosophy, law and travel to probe the questions ‘who or what are we?’ and ‘what on earth are we doing here?’.   Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud. Original score by Art School Girlfriend. Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Anna sees and thinks in patterns. As a child, she carried around a notebook and recorded things that changed and how things were related to each other.  She explores what it is like to live guided by patterns - of the moon, of day and night, of the seasons. How to open ourselves up to the flow of the never-ending spirals we find in nature; in seeds, on the down-like hair of a baby’s head and in galactic formations. Having created PATTERNITY, she tries to live and work according to her own cycles, as a woman, a night-owl and someone who finds grounding and meaning in the annual cycles of the earth.  Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud. Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend. Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Audrey is a poetician and Taiwan’s first Digital Minister. She sees herself as a digital migrant, having moved into the internet when she was 12 years old. The early makers of digital democracy in the 21st century, she says, are like the makers of reflecting telescopes in the 17th century. They are building digital spaces that are transparent like glass and reflective like mirrors, helping us blend our individual feelings into shared reflections - the practice of democracy.  Audio is licensed under Creative Commons CC0 licence.  Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud. Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend. The Audio uses a recording made by sonnyestufa in Yuanlin City, Taiwan, a recording made by LG beach in Taitung, Taiwan and a recording of a Market in Taipei, Taiwan  made by xserra.  All are licensed under a creative commons attribution licence.

Angel has a voice like medicine. It heals. He is a pioneer of the emerging field of healing-centred education - helping children and adults experience and channel the wisdom, pain and potential that resides in our bodies as well as our minds. In exploring his own heritage, he illuminates what is possible when we discover and act from a place of deep connectedness. We have to act from the future we dream of, he says, or we will find ourselves living in one dreamt up by others.  Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud.  Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend. Audio uses a soundscape recording of Playa Bonita in the Dominican Republic By Michael Tarrant by, licensed under a creative commons attribution licence. Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Hilary is a gifted maker and a thinker, blessed with a formidable mind, deep heart and fierce passion. She thinks to make, and makes to think, and her craft is helping communities design their own solutions to the challenges they face. When Hilary works with people for the first time, she asks them to draw maps of their lives. Every map is a zig-zag. Our lives, she says, are ones of constant transition but all our systems see us climbing up long straight ladders. Hilary birthed the concept of ‘Radical Help’ to build a future in which people can live and work as a whole human being - loving, caring, playing, learning and working.  Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud. Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend.

Yo-Yo Ma is an internationally renowned cellist and champion of culture’s power to transform lives. In moments of blissful musical flow, he experiences perfect equilibrium when his body becomes part of his mind. Fingers are like tiny brains, Yo-Yo says, they find their way into the sounds they want to hear. He calls for a second enlightenment in which we combine the power of the mind and body, the head and the heart to find and build a better future. Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud. Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend. Additional music played by Yo-Yo Ma. Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Sheffield’s journey was an adventure into the future for a group of Sheffielders from all walks of life and all parts of the city in autumn 2021. Together they examined this moment in Sheffield’s history and the past that brought us here, and dreamed of a brighter future for the city they love: one that fully reflects the potential of Sheffield’s incredible people and places. Listen to the crew’s story in their own words here. Made by Jo Barratt with Gemma Mortensen, Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud Our crew of inspiring Sheffielders (who were involved in one or more of the three gatherings that formed this journey) included Abtisam Mohamed, Alexis Krachai, Anthony Olaseinde, Beatrix Butnicu, Dave Hembrough, Gulnaz Hussain, Helen Sims, James Lock, James O’Hara, Jodie Marshall, Kate Josephs, Kathryn Littlewood, Kiri Joanna, Louisa Harrison-Walker, Mahara Haque, Martin McKervey, Matthew Yates, Matthew Pinder, Maxine Greaves, Miranda Plowden, Nathan Geering, Novaya Bedward-Makanjuola, Rebecca Varley, Sandi Carman, Sarah Want, Steve Anwar, Terezia Terry and Waqas Hameed. Discover more at newconstellations.co, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Panthea’s work bridges perspectives, disciplines and divides. Without looking at the past and without healing from it, she believes we can never truly move forward.  So, as a strategist, organizer and facilitator, Panthea helps people explore what type of solidarity can heal, nourish and liberate us and keep us  alive to one another’s beauty and humanity as well as each other’s suffering. She asks how we can begin to dream again  and dream bigger from a place of curiosity and expansiveness and abundance and joy and delicious, juicy, open imagination. Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud. Music made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend. Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Candy Chang is an artist who creates public spaces through which people can connect with and share what it means to be human today. She explores how we can create more infrastructure for the soul - to reflect, to forgive, to atone and to see ourselves in each other. Having spent time bearing witness to the confessions of thousands of people around the world, she has seen just how much we want the same things for our future and how important it is to create new spaces for emotional communion.    Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud. Music made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend. Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Gemma and Jo take a walk to reflect on the themes and patterns that have emerged from the first series of audio encounters and look ahead to the next series. The themes from this first series are explored in more detail in our blogs. Made by Jo Barratt. Conceived by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud. Music is made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend. Discover more at http://newconstellations.co/, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells