We are intrigued by the many creative scenes throughout history where individuals boost, unblock, critique, and inspire each other’s work. So a central feature of Archipelago will be crews: groups of 2-6 people who either work on the same project or simply work alongside one another – for instance:
<aside> ⚡ Crews work best when there’s already social chemistry, so we encourage you to apply as a crew. But you can also apply solo, and – if you like – we will match you with a crew of other solo applicants.
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🏵️ Other features Beyond crews, Archipelago will facilitate lab-wide mutual support, structured co-working, demo nights, coaching, and a final expo to showcase your work.
👍 Fits into your life Archipelago is not a live-in retreat-style lab, so yes, it is compatible with having a day job. You should also customize it to your needs, opting out of the pieces that aren’t a fit, including crews.
🙆 Stretch yourself We support projects that are just beyond your current capacities. We want individuals and crews to pursue the kind of challenges that will pull them into new phases of creative, practical, and social development.
🤟 All are welcome We accept any type of project, from building a startup, to starting a group house, to creating a dance workshop and beyond. Pay what feels right/what you can afford. Don’t know what to work on? Come to our pre-lab workshop, Garden of Forking Paths. It’s free.
The Algonquin Roundtable, which met at the Algonquin Hotel for lunch and collaboration every day between 1919-1929. Attendees included Dorothy Parker, Harpo Marx, and Alexander Woollcott.
Collaborators Warhol and Basquiat
<aside> ⚠️ You creating great work comes first. Skip any of these events that would get in the way of that.
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Boost & be boosted
🤝 Peer support: meet with your crew to set goals for the week and ask for help on whatever is blocking you. (6pm on Wednesdays is a suggested time, but you can do this whenever is most convenient.)
👏 6pm Tuesdays, Demos: Show off progress, ask for support, and receive inspiration from other participants.
1hr focus, 30min socialize, 1hr focus, 30min socialize:
🛠️ 2-5pm Saturday cowork: Merlin’s Place –248 McKibbin St 1G, Brooklyn (Bushwick)
⚒️ 6-9pm Wednesday cowork: Alchemy House – 61 St Felix, Brooklyn (Ft Greene)
The beginning and the end
🚀 6pm Tuesday, April 16th, Kickoff: This is to hang out a bit, discuss our projects and have our first meetings with crews.
⭐️ 6pm Tuesday May 28th, Rough Drafts Expo: This is to build in accountability & showcase our work, finished or unfinished! We’ll each invite friends & family to this final event at the beginning of the lab.
Here is a link to the full schedule in Google Calendar format. (You’re welcome to click the “+” icon on the lower right to add it to your own calendar.)
Students at Black Mountain College, home to many members of what became the American avant garde (Merce Cunningham, Ruth Asawa, Josef Albers, the list goes on forever)
The Bloomsbury group, whose members included Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes & EM Forster
Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre
The Paypal Mafia, whose members went on to found YouTube, LinkedIn, Tesla, Yelp, Palantir, etc
Andrew Blevins is a writer and community builder interested in aesthetics and relationships. For the lab he plans to serialize a long narrative essay about changing worldviews in a short amount of time. That and organizing this lab are just outside of his comfort zone.
Tyler Alterman is a founder & artist who is interested in the research and advancement of the good life. For the lab he will finally put his sci-fi novel online. Synopsis: humanity turns telepathic & the collective unconscious wakes up. Gods, myths, ideologies, etc wage war to possess as many minds as possible. He hopes you’ll read it and give him feedback.
You can apply with a wide variety of ideas that you might work on, from finishing a novel to founding a company. You can also attend our pre-lab workshop, Garden of Forking Paths, which will help people figure out projects.