Improvising in Ruyang : community art as ecological practice

Abstract

This study reports on the activities of the improvisation-based project TWIG 'Together We Integrate Growth', which developed as a community initiative to facilitate ecological awareness through creative activities. It analyses the TWIG Project as a model for practices of social, mental and natural ecology, as defined by Felix Guattari (2000) and in terms of its ability to use improvisation as a method for developing individual bodily perception and generating community interest in conservation of the local environment. Drawing parallels between TWIG's improvisatory programme and Michel de Certeau's notion of 'play' as an act of political resistance, this article suggests that ecological practice necessarily engages multiple aspects of individuals, their communities and the surrounding environment.