on breathing in between
As my exploration with coaching as a medium continues, I am once again reminded of the privilege I have as a “border stalker” (mearcstpas). This term first entered into my vocabulary during an intimate session of a book club I had the honour to be a part of with treasured friends and fellow creatives. We were discussing the first few chapters of Makoto Fujimura’s Culture Care, and it was from Chapter 9, Two Lives At The Margins, and onwards that Makoto shared more about an artist’s role on journeying in between.
When I was an assistant artist in tides, an arts-based community development project that spanned eleven months from 2022, it was my first conscious experience of being in between communities. It brought about many moments of empowerment and freedom, to be in a position that expects me to practice agility - to flow seamlessly between cultures, spaces, frameworks, methodologies and mediums. I remember reflecting about it then and thought about how I could feel so at home in a community that is not mine, and yet feel so distant from one that is.
A sign outside of an artist’s studio in Kualar Lumpur, Malaysia, 2025
As an artist whose practice overlaps with everyday life, it is becoming more clear to me that I have to get really comfortable with existing in between, that I may never fully belong in one space, or culture, or community, or role and that in itself is where my real power lies. To not fully belong can also mean to belong everywhere, instead of nowhere at all.
In Chapter 10, Opening the Gates, Makoto begins with a question - “What kind of a framework is needed to guide mearcstapas - to prepare them for success on their mission?” As I consider coaching as a medium, it has unlocked a new layer of discovery and clarity about “my mission”, “framework”, and understanding what my craft truly is. While we are more used to the idea of artists as makers, who use tangible materials to produce visual outcomes, social arts practitioners expands this idea of an artist in a different way. ‘Relational’, ‘durationa’l, ‘social’, ‘process-based’ - these are the words often used to describe and help define social arts, but yet these are not enough to fully differentiate us from creatives who engage in participatory arts and performance art, or those who do social work.
Recognising that the social arts field is in its pionerring era, perhaps this writing is my attempt at articulating a differentiation that is resonates most with me - to say that my craft is a combination of art pedagogy, inquiry-based facilitation and coaching techniques, this in which allows me to conduct meaningful conversations, foster deep relationships and cultivate change using arts-based approaches. With this is my guiding “mission” statement, I am now more confident about who I am as an artist and more intentional about honing my craft. It is only onward and upward from here.
