A conversation with the Creator of the Flâneuse Project, Patricia Hurducaș—
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Hey Eclectic Spacewalkers!
A few weeks ago we traveled to Zürich, Switzerland to speak with Patricia Hurducaș. Patricia is the creator of The Flâneuse Project an online repository for interviews, essays, and a digital gallery.
“The Flâneuse Project (F) is the place where I follow my curiosity, share my writings and questions, curation of visual art, and maps with the places I stumble upon on my walks. Currently working on a digital magazine, a collection of slow interviews, and researching material for my upcoming online and offline exhibitions.”
Zürich is wonderfully beautiful with incredible architecture, warm glühwein, and of course tasty chocolate. It is a fantastic city to practice as Patricia describes it: Peripatetic Flânerie - “A Philosophy of Walking (Aimlessly).”
The art of Flânerie is to be “aimless or idle quality or state”
Patricia is writing/curating an E-Book: A field guide to flânerie with essays, interviews, illustrations and photographs of her journeys & curiosities.
Redefining the flâneur / flâneuse : a story about the importance of strolling
“I flane because I write, I flane because this way I remember more of my day(s), I flane because I love photographing names of street, I flane because I am in love with Berlin, I flane because I flaned ever since I got “lost” on some streets in Venice at 13 years old, I flane because I love history and beautiful design, coffee, red wine in hidden cafés, seeing the daily lives of different people, noticing unique fonts on the streets, I flane because it gives me meaning, it trains my curiosity, I flane because I write.” — From Patricia’s Medium.com page
Patricia is also an Interintellect salon host. Salons are 3-4 hour moderated conversations. Eclectic Spacewalk became a member this past summer and has thoroughly enjoyed the format, discussion, and ultimately, COMMUNITY it provides. Patricia runs a few continuous salons on writing and has hosted more than 20 salons across a wide variety of topics.
Featured on the InterIntellect blog: On Enjoying the Unknown
“During the Enjoying the Unknown salon we tried to come up with answers to the question: how can we map the unknown? We can map and track back the things that we know and that already took place, but how can we map what has not (yet) happened?
By asking this question, I wanted to invite everyone who joined the salon to imagine how their life would unfold as of now and to play with the flow of maps – streets, canals, rivers, cities – or to visualise the unknown in drawings, paintings, splashes of colour on paper. By mapping our choices and some possible ways our lives can unfold we can at least have a taste of the unknown and reduce our anxiety vis-a-vis the future.
Drawing maps was most of the time a preferred solution of mine in dealing with uncharted territory. However, that does not mean that the map will be accurate, but it can serve at least as a guide or as a possible journey ahead. After all, nothing will truly make sense until we look backwards to start remembering forward.”
Featured on the InterIntellect blog: On the Art of Conversation
“The aim of the poet is to inform or delight, or to combine together, in what he says, both pleasure and applicability to life. In instructing, be brief in what you say in order that your readers may grasp it quickly and retain it faithfully. Superfluous words simply spill out when the mind is already full. Fiction invented in order to please should remain close to reality.” —Horace, Ars Poetica
“One delight of conversations is the gift of thinking together. This particular aspect of conversation is what brings innovation forward, and allows us to hone our thinking and consider new and fresh nuances and perspectives.
All in all, a good conversation can be engineered, designed, and planned, and should not be left to sheer luck or to serendipitous encounters. The world needs more good conversations.”
We thank Patricia for her time, research, and eclectic mind. Enjoy the conversation, and until next time - Ad Astra!
Timestamps:
Who or what influenced Patricia’s curiosity growing up? (02:39)
Flâneur, Flâneuse, & Flânerie (10:57)
CyberFlânerie (23:30)
The Flâneuse Project (27:58)
Upcoming e-book: A field guide to flânerie (32:10)
Interintellect and hosting salons (40:37)
Host your own salon! (45:40)
On the Art of Conversation (49:00)
Writing, time travel, and having to make choices (54:20)
Patricia’s answer to the Overview Effect question (01:02:05)
More on Patricia Hurducaș:
Twitter: @PHurducas
The Flâneuse Project: https://flaneuseproject.com/
Interintellect Host Page: https://interintellect.com/patricia/
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Conversations #20 - Patricia Hurducaș