To exist as community is a survival strategy, it gives us a sense of belonging and identity, assigns us responsibilities and rights, and places us in communion and reciprocity with other beings and with the places we are part of. However, in the Western world, the capacity to build and sustain a sense of community has been largely colonized by narratives of individualism, competition and domination. A large number of us live in societies that glorify the individual, that operate disconnected from their territory, that organize themselves primarily through relations of consumption and extraction, that increasingly reduce common spaces, that confuse community with homogenization, and that completely ignore the biological communities with which they coexist.
In our context of planetary crisis and system collapse, we need each other more than ever. It is essential to reignite our capacity to recognize, create, heal and nurture communities—broadening the notion of community to include the landscape and the multiple beings that comprise it. This involves recognizing the complexity involved in living in community. Recognizing that the stories and discourses that give us a sense of community are fragile, that the line between belonging and exclusion is often thin, and that forging communities will always be permeated by conflict, power relations, crises and other difficulties for which we must take responsibility. At the same time, reclaiming our sense of community requires awakening our creativity to imagine new stories of belonging, to envision diverse and fair forms of organization, to make space for diversity, to adapt our communities to a changing world, to cultivate bonds with beings different from ourselves, and to once again live in reciprocity with the web of life.
In this open call we seek stories that explore the concept of community from diverse perspectives. How do we re-imagine ourselves as plural beings? What can we learn from non-human communities? What creates or destroys communities? What forms of community organizing challenge the capitalist and individualistic homogenization? What narratives can broaden and strengthen our sense of community in a globalized society? How to heal conflicts between communities and repair the damage done to oppressed communities? How to rethink the sense of community from the landscape or territory? How to create networks of mutual care in this unprecedented crisis? How to feel in communion with something larger than ourselves?
These are some of the questions that will guide our sixth edition of the magazine, in which we want to reflect on the concept of community through our characteristic approach: creative non-fiction stories situated at the intersections between ecology, culture, art and spirituality.
We are thrilled to receive your submissions!
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:
Wimblu creates and publishes stories that reconnect ecology and nature in order to restore our sense of belonging and connection to our planet. We are looking for non-fiction stories that have a strong author’s vision and that connect themes such as ecology, spirituality, art, justice and, in this case, the theme of Volume 6: Community
Format
We accept proposals in any multimedia format (text, short film, feature film, photography, animation, hybrid).
Who can apply:
Anyone, of any age, nationality, gender or ethnicity.
HOW TO APPLY:
Read our guidelines here carefully and apply to be featured on our volume 6 by filling out this form.
Deadline:
