What a ride. For me, this year kicked off to a rocking start. Following from the explosion of energy that was The Dames Sylvester, I enjoyed some downtime in Blightey. Family wedding, dipping into London, soaking up the westend, getting inspired by connecting to an earlier version of me.
Landing back in Berlin it was full steam ahead. Recording a tape with The Bricks, writing a musical, and moving into a new studio. Its been all go! I’ve been maintaining some grounding practices, writing 2 pages every morning, and doing a drawing every evening. In the backdrop of a hectic life and a harrowing political landscape, this has been helping me to show up for me, so I can better show up for others. At least, this is what I endeavour to do. In this last week of the month it was 4 years of Poppers and the first ever annual Spat Awards. It felt like the community came out of winter hibernation and braved ice and snow for a brief moment of celebration and togetherness. A precious gift among grey skies and social sorrow. I’m counting my blessings everyday and feeling so grateful for my family, my collaborators, our communities of resistance and hope.
I’ve also been blessed by the gift of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass- indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the teachings of plants. You know when you read a book and you can feel it changing your life. Not since Caliban and the Witch have I been so moved by a text. Its really making me reflect on my non-indigenousness, and on the sickness which pervades in Eurocentric ways of thinking.
Its been years now that I’ve not been posting on Instagram, luckily I’ve had help to accept collaborations. The need to ground and connect has led to the decision to publish little monthly journal entries. I know long format text isn’t trendy, so cudous if you got this far. I dont trust this app at all, so will also publish a blog on my website nancynutter.net. Instagram is a tool weilded by the super rich to placate the masses and drip feed advertisements. It had hijacked our brain chemistry with dopamine. But after such a long break, with the help of the ‘one sec’ blocker, I’m trying to reestablish a connection to the platform in a way that feels worthwhile and wholesome. Who knows of I’ll keep it up, who knows if anyone even cares, broadcasting to the void (what a strange predicament we have found ourselves in), but you dont know until you’ve tried it, and then given it a second chance.
Photo by Javier Alejandro Cerrada