γνῶθι σεαυτόν (“know thyself”, Delphic aphorism)
Background
Arts of self are a serendipitous by-product of my aspiration for an empowering, pleasing and healthy life of numerous potentials and self-integrity.
Undertaken in 2008 as a survival strategy, an automatic response to a severe, apparently life-long threat that I encountered at the age of 21, Arts of self aim to develop, research and openly share the benefits offered by technologies of self-cultivation. Their toolbox include perceptual approaches, creative behaviors, psycho-physical activities and forms of life that cause a spontaneous enlargement and empowerment of your native self; a knowledge that has been historically available only to selected individuals or influential secret societies.
The website artsofself.com was launched by Jatun Risba in June 2015 (in Slovene, my mother tongue) and will be available in Italian and English soon. Even though it all started as a self-survival strategy, Arts of self are a large-scale research proposal willing to address a wide, cross-disciplinary inquiry about the processes of human individuation. The initiative aspires to generate a qualitative expansion in the understanding of your own individual self, as well as about the role of the collective self in the process of becoming. I am looking forward to involve as many others as possible in the exciting process of co-creation and experimental research about the Arts of self.
Overview
Arts of self foster the innate potentials of a human corporeality. The use of self-cultivating technologies (Arts of self) disclosures and enforces capacities, which are intrinsic to human nature and thus have a biological foundation and are freely available to anyone.
In their basis, Arts of self represent a self-surviving kit of practices that is openly accessible to individuals in the most precarious conditions: without economic and human capital resources. At an upper level, Arts of self provide technologies and creative behaviors, which expand the well-being, creativity and genius of each individual.
Every practitioner can be considered an artist of self, no matter the specific form and extend of their engagement. The manner of your contribution and involvement is totally up to your personal preferences and desires. Proposals, constructive critiques and suggestions are deeply welcomed and appreciated.
Relying on the paradigm of self-tropism, it is obvious that Arts of self may produce nothing other than multitudes of self-organizing individuals, most indulgent to what Michel Foucault identifies as the “care of the self”.
Please enjoy your self 😉
About the founder
Jatun Risba is the pioneer of transformative art practices named Arts of Self, a mind-body researcher and performer. After a BA degree at NABA Academy in Milan (2008), they studied Philosophy of Language with Paolo Virno at Roma Tre University. In 2013 Risba participated to the International Conference on Performing Arts at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia with the paper “Traditional African Performing Arts and the Emergence of the Glorious Body”. In 2015 they conducted a field study about traditional rituals, ceremonies and popular arts in Ethiopia that had a deep impact on Risba’s conception of the role, value and use of arts.
Arts of self are present also on Twitter and Vimeo.
Arts of self were inspired and (virtually) supported by: →
Acknowledgments: →
SUPPORTING = CARING
If you liked any contents of the website, please mind sharing it with your friends. You can support Arts of self also by using the Flattr micro-donation system.
If you are an ITA or ENG native speaker or translator, who finds any curiosity or stimulation in the initiative, please consider becoming a supervising proofreader of the upcoming webpage translations and a leading-edge Artist of self in your community. Thank you!