How might we imagine new ways of being?
How might we create networks of reciprocity?
How might we re-enchant ourselves?
How might we flourish together?
In a time where universities and public institutions are often operating a commercialised learning model, education is treated as a consumable, funding is being cut and academics are burning out, what does it mean for a community to teach itself — without compromising on quality and ethics?
The Convivial is a not-for-profit civic learning space started by Sophie Craven in 2024. It was inspired by a lecture given by Valentin Gerlier on Ivan Illich’s concept of conviviality at Schumacher College in Devon, during Sophie’s MA Poetics of Imagination at the school.
The Convivial offers a wide range of courses, events and talks delivered by a variety of local and external teachers, facilitators and practitioners across ecology, arts, storytelling, interbeing, queerness, mythopoetics and place-based practice and research.
Financial modelling
What does it mean to offer learning through financial transaction as well as gift economy, skills exchange and conviviality?
The Convivial believes in equitable relationships which are fluid and always renegotiable based on fluctuating financial situations and ever changing personal capacities. We are committed to exploring a world that is based on reciprocity, mutual aid and shared respect, as well as an understanding of systemic inequalities and the greater barriers to learning for many within our communities.
We take great care to work with every practitioner-teacher as well as every attendee to structure the relationship in a way that suits that particular dynamic. Each course is therefore structured differently in terms of its cost and ways to attend.
All courses and events will offer ways in which people can attend through other-than-financial means. With every offering available, there will be a sliding scale of costs and in considering your contribution we invite you to think about:
Your own financial position
The efforts, expertise and experience of those facilitating the offering
The costs involved in providing the space
Our ability to provide learning to those who experience greater economic instability based on systemic barriers
You are also very much encouraged to get in touch if you cannot meet the financial minimum. We want you with us and are always happy to talk about how that could happen in a way that feels equitable and reciprocal to all involved.
The Convivial pays its ground rent through the letting of five studio spaces.
Donations and funded collaborations
If you enjoy a greater financial freedom and would like to contribute to The Convivial’s vision for civic learning, we gratefully accept donations. Your donation may be used for funding site-specific projects, practice-based research in Penryn or for providing spaces on courses free of charge to those who find the costs prohibitive for any reason.
If you are part of an institution with funding available for research projects conducted within community, you may like to get in touch to talk about how we might collaborate. The Convivial’s core costs are likely to remain unfunded, but we would love to discuss the potential for distinct funded projects!
Please email hellotheconvivial@gmail.com to find out more about either of these possibilities.
Values
The Convivial has a set of four core values which guide us as our North Star:
Hospitality
The commitment to showing the hospitality of the mind, body and soul to different ideas and people of varying backgrounds. The commitment to be generous and hospitable to facilitators as they share their wisdom, thoughts and experience, as well as to the space and the group as a whole. The commitment to being curious and generative, rather than critical and oblique.
Presence
The commitment to being together in a room and in a moment without distractions. The commitment to honouring the gathering with our attention. The commitment to turning off our bloody phones for a few hours!
Shared wisdom
The commitment to sharing wisdom within community and improving access to knowledge for all. The commitment to poking a hole in the institutional and financial barriers to learning. The commitment to equitability and justice.
Imagination
The commitment to imagining new ways of being in the world. The commitment to holding paradox and complexity in our hearts. The commitment to offering portals to other ways of being and new worlds.