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Photo Credit: Cherie Wai

Christie Wong (AKA Pom) weaves together the fabric of her Self and brings us an episode that is contemplative and meditative while simultaneously challenging the status quo with each new thread revealed. She talks about what it means to her to find belonging in third culture, how integral art and creativity are to our human existence, and the ways she believes we can benefit from embracing ritual and slowing down.

Christie is a 1.5-gen Hong Kong Canadian, third culture kid who happens to be a multidisciplinary artist and traveler working with natural pigments, textiles, photography, cacao, stories, and illustration. She thinks of herself as a visual poet and a gathering space for multitudes of ideas to alchemize into slices of aliveness.

On the world wide web, Christie's can be found here and here.

Follow and find her cacao-related content @sonder.taller

Vestiges is one of Christie's original as-yet-unreleased musical offerings, written and sung by Christie, mixed and Mastered by Michael Friedman.

The book referenced in this episode (and several others) is Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home, by Toko-pa Turner.

Other Resetters referenced in this episode who have the People of Reset Series' episodes of their own are Aunty Awake and Bliss. At this time Five and Co-Creatrix D (CCD) have not been interviewed for the series. But you might find them at camp.

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INSIDE STORIES exists to foster connection in a world suffering and dying from disconnectivity. It seeks to examine the stories we tell and don’t tell and how that impacts us.

The INSIDE STORIES PEOPLE in PLACES PODCAST examines specifically our relationship with Place and its influence on our ways of existing, our beliefs about ourselves and others, and our sense of belonging…or not.

Send us a Text Message.

Darius Bashar (AKA Wolfee) gets right to the heart of the human condition in sharing what he sees when looking through the lens of his camera, and how he helps his subjects see what he sees (leaving this podcast host momentarily breathless in the process). He discusses the impact growing up with seven fierce women had on his present-day existence—at which point we touch briefly on America Ferrera's iconic Barbie monologue—how he found his way to allowing play to influence every aspect of his life, and how Reset lifted him up from his personal rock-bottom and permanently changed his trajectory.

GUEST BIO: Darius Bashar is a celebrated photographer who works with international celebrities, best-selling authors, and thought leaders such as Seth Godin, Liz Gilbert, Dr. Shafali, Jim Kwik, Danielle LaPorte, Lisa Nichols, and Masai Ujiri.

His work has been featured in world-class publications such as TIME, Apple, Forbes, USA TODAY, Oprah.com, and others.

Darius' specialty is working with speakers, authors, and thought-leaders and his signature photography experiences are his HEARTshots™ and Black + White Experience.

In June 2022, Darius launched a new photography project called NoStrangers.art, which explores intimacy and connection, by taking photos of strangers on the streets of Toronto and asking them one deep question.

Darius is also the founder of Artist Morning, which is an international community of artists, creators, and meditators. He has led and facilitated over 500 group meditations for thousands of people around the world. You can find Darius on the world’s most popular and largest meditation app, Insight Timer.

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INSIDE STORIES exists to foster connection in a world suffering and dying from disconnectivity. It seeks to examine the stories we tell and don’t tell and how that impacts us.

The INSIDE STORIES PEOPLE in PLACES PODCAST examines specifically our relationship with Place and its influence on our ways of existing, our beliefs about ourselves and others, and our sense of belonging…or not.

Send us a Text Message.

Hima Batavia (AKA Aunty Awake) discusses her current works, exploring the ancestral stories we hold in our hair. She shares her deeply personal (and ongoing) journey into self-acceptance, and how the co-founding of Reset (yes, THIS Reset) came to pass. This is a very special episode with a truly remarkable woman. If you're curious about Reset's origin story, you'll want to keep it locked and loaded.

GUEST BIO: Hima Batavia (she/her) is an artist, cultural leader and community organizer based as a settler on the traditional territories of T'karonto. She is a co-founder, former co-director and now board member of a grassroots organization called Reset, which promotes social health through play and justice. Currently, she works with the Global Centre for Climate Action at OCAD University. Previously, she has collaborated with organizations including North York Arts, Artscape, Luminato, TED, Newest Magazine, Centre for Social Innovation, Hyman Digital, Staples Studio, Woodgreen Community Services, Parkdale People’s Economy on curatorial projects, learning experiences, design thinking processes, and festival programming and production.

Her artistic practice focuses on reimagining social systems by embodying a politic of care, interconnectedness, and well-being by applying critical research methods, world-building, decolonial gestures, and durational performance to create immersive and participatory experiences. Over the years, her work has been shown at Summerworks Festival, Geary Art Crawl, Myseum Intersections Festival, The Annex Hotel, and Kajal Magazine and covered in the Toronto Star. Most recently, she was awarded a Canada Council for the Arts grant to expand her show, Higher Hair.

The episode begins with a moving and meditative audible excerpt from that durational performance as it was expressed at SummerWorks 2023 and upon which Hima collaborated with Nikola Steer, AKA Paradise.

Find Hima on Instagram @hima_batavia

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RESET is a non-profit social enterprise that addresses loneliness by creating liminal and permanent social infrastructure including adult summer camp, pop-up playgrounds, and more.

The Reset Living Room is located in Little Jamaica at 634 Vaughan Road in Toronto.

Camp Reset is an annual four-day tech-free, "no-work-talk" immersive experience that takes place at a traditional summer camp in Bancroft, Ontario, where participants are invited to choose alternate names and engage in rest and play.

At Camp Reset, Lara Margaret Marjerrison is known as Gem.

After Camp Reset 2023, Gem/Lara found herself pondering what, specifically, brought together 250 people from such diverse backgrounds and lived experiences. The People of Reset Series is an exploration in search of the through-line.

Learn more about Reset.

Support the Show.

::

INSIDE STORIES exists to foster connection in a world suffering and dying from disconnectivity. It seeks to examine the stories we tell and don’t tell and how that impacts us.

The INSIDE STORIES PEOPLE in PLACES PODCAST examines specifically our relationship with Place and its influence on our ways of existing, our beliefs about ourselves and others, and our sense of belonging…or not.