Big Beef and Beyond | BB & Sarj

More and more people are recognising that callout or cancel culture-based approaches, with their endless cycles of shunning and shaming, have long passed their expiration date. If we have any hope of remaking this world on fire, we need to act differently from the arsonists. That means looking at deeper changes in how we treat each other and how we respond when harm happens, to break destructive cycles.

Too often the desire for “safer spaces” comes with demands for purity: perfect behaviour, perfect politics, ignoring the messy reality of human relationships, the diversity of our communities and the urgent need to build coalitions with people who might not yet agree with us on everything. It is magical thinking to believe that clutching a list of “isms” and “phobias” then punishing and disposing of people who fail our standards helps create safety. What lies on the other side of that? What tools do we need in our groups and relationships to deal with conflict and discern it from abuse? How do we move beyond identitarian frameworks while continuing to explore, with humility and care, the space between our experiences? After all, that is where solidarity lives.

Big Beef and Beyond is a popular education programme I began building during the pandemic to explore these questions. I’ll be co-presenting with fellow Refuge Worldwide resident Sarj, master of the quiet work of holding contradiction and insisting on our collective dignity when things get hairy, and my esteemed my co-chef in the Big Beef kitchen. We’ll dig into some of these questions, give you a flavour of the activities and tools we help participants to hone, and explore each others journeys and inspo on these spicy topics, alongside dropping plenty a banger.

This show is a teaser for the latest iteration of Big Beef and Beyond, part of 90Mil Art School, starting March 31 across four Tuesday evening sessions, with sign ups now open at https://90milartschool.softr.app/workshop-details-artschool?recordId=recvRP28tmgJEK14A