the performance of bureaucracy : brunch party!
Upcoming grant deadlines...healthcare insurance enrollment...paying bills...unsubscribing from pesky recurring charges...cleaning out email inboxes...sorting through calendars...writing artist statements...scheduling doctor visits...updating websites...responding to group texts or platform channels...coordinating concepts for new work...polishing resumes...or lying on the floor listening to others type out their bureaucratic necessities of the everyday...let's turn this into a party!
What is all this about?
The South Austin Arts Society presents a weekend day for a live "performance" of bureaucracy, in which we gather with our administrative supplies and tasks while enjoying the company of comrades as antidote to tedious tasks. Brunch and drinks will be served!
Inspired by a recent article, (see excerpt below)...there may be something to this community gathering magic that gets the job done in an atmosphere removed from home base.
Who knows how this might go?...we keep thinking of options and opportunities to expand our programming in collaboration with Grotto 101.
When: Saturday, December 7, in the afternoon: 11am-3pm
Where: Grotto 101, 2605 Jones Road, Suite 101, ATX, 78745
From WSJ article:
Six years ago, after watching my circle of friends surrender one too many evenings to insurance wrangling and doctor portals and DMV confusion, I emailed them a proposal: Come over next Tuesday. Grab a six pack. And bring your bills, your credit-card statements, your school forms, the streaming services you need to unsubscribe from, the airline miles you need to manage, the expenses app you need to figure out.
I’d be throwing the lamest party ever.
At the heart of this party was a truth that has gone under-acknowledged in recent years: We’re all sinking. We’re sinking into a quicksand of tiny, dumb administrative tasks. It is the most tedious quicksand imaginable.I called my nerdy little party Admin Night. The premise: deal with the stuff we’ve been putting off, help each other when possible ('anyone have luck connecting with Comcast?') and make a fun evening of something onerous.
Right away we marveled at how productive we were. Having friends hammer away beside you, faces lighted by the same bureaucratic glow, somehow makes dreaded tasks manageable. Little projects postponed for years—closing a checking account, updating a will—become approachable when you’ve got a squad.
paywalled article (sorry!) but including link for proper reference: https://on.wsj.com/4oZOgwZ