Making private matters public in temporary assemblies

Abstract

In this paper we propose temporary assemblies where the sharing of stories and concerns are facilitated. Possible challenges and characteristics of such temporary assemblies will be discussed through the project Threads – A Mobile Sewing Circle, which is designed in order to support conversations in relation to everyday use of information and communication technology as well as to other means of communication. The participants do not necessarily belong to an already existing community and do not need to reach a consensus. The discussion in this paper will focus on how the design of Threads allows and encourages the participants to bring past lived experiences to the table, as well as how the act of participating in the sewing circle brings out new concerns. Despite the transient character of this assembly we will also look at how the things produced in the sewing circle might support longer lasting, future conversations.

Keywords:

• participation
• temporary assemblies
• thing
• sewing circle
• design experiment

Acknowledgements

Thank you to everyone who has participated in our sewing circles and collaborated with us in various stages of this project. In particular, thanks go to Pirjo Elovaara, Christina Mörtberg, Pelle Ehn and Inger Lindstedt for feedback in the reviewing process. We would also like to thank the editors of this special issue of CoDesign, Daria Loi and Joan Greenbaum, who made generous suggestions as to how to improve the paper.