Why a Caravan
UnBox has over the years been an emergent platform to showcase multi-disciplinary projects and conversations. We have explored multiple formats within this over the years. And much of UnBox’s evolution has been through conversations and collaborations with friends and partners across the world.
In its previous edition, the UnBox LABS brought together a diverse bunch of participants to organically form teams and evolve projects together. This year, we wanted to bring together a group of friends (old and new) to spend two weeks together at the beautiful NID campus, in the city of Ahmedabad to seed conversations and ideas that could evolve and further be built upon in the coming months and years….
Jon and I deliberated for a while about what this edition of the lab ought to be called. After having toyed with a number of options, we came upon Caravan. India has had a long history of trade routes and journeys within the sub continent as well as with the world at large. And caravans have been a big part of this. Ahmedabad in particular is situated in Gujarat and it really was the convergence of the trade routes over land and sea for several years. The word itself seemed to be brimming with possibilities and the tone in which we wanted to set a safe but challenging space for this edition of the lab seemed well encapsulated within it.
As a group together over the next two weeks, we would really want this to be an open emergent journey, where we keep each other company while also being able to skip away at times and explore on our own. A caravan would have people staying on over the course of the journey and several others joining in at points, similar to what we have planned over the next two weeks. We hope that this time around UnBox LABS can be a space where we get to take some time off, explore nascent ideas (or well-thought out ones) with each other and immerse deeply in the context around us.
Like in any caravan, the only ask is for you to come with an open heart and an open mind (hat-tip: Jayne Wallace) and together we will make sure it is an adventure!
I can’t wait to start off this journey with all of you.
