Hello everyone!
I’m Natasha Natarajan, I have been hired part-time by Outlandish to expand SPACE4’s programme of events and build new partnerships with like-minded organisations and individuals.
I have spent a long time working as a Freelance Creative under the business name Chikaboo Designs. I am a bit of a jack of all trades. but I’m probably most proud of my autobiographical comic strip ‘FML Comics’. Before I started at Outlandish I was doing an MA in Global Creative and Cultural Industries at SOAS to up-skill and move into more secure employment. Because of my experiences as a freelancer in the cultural economy I became really interested in freelance worker politics, the gig economy, and issues of precarity. I came upon ideas of community wealth building and ended up writing my dissertation about Creative Freelancers and the potential of cooperatives. That’s how I ended up in a workshop at SPACE4, met Polly, and here I am today. I am really excited to be working for a space that, I believe, embodies the kind of support and infrastructure needed for the new world of work. I am also really grateful to employed by a business that aligns with my politics and is working towards the kind of economy I want to see in the world.
Anyway, I started in October and have been working hard to create more regular events and make sure that our network knows we want to support them in using our space for their activities. We’re keen to have more workshops and skill-sharing sessions, as well as discussions around themes that we care about: tech for good, cooperatives, progressive economics, left-leaning politics, activism, and more.
So far I have designed two event formats:
- Speaker-Led Events
These will be 2-hour evening events where we invite 3 speakers to discuss and/or debate on a topic. Some of the discussion topics we have so far are:
– Is Technological Innovation the Solution to the Climate Crisis?
– Activism in the 21st Century: Should We All Be Criminals?
– Do Wage Caps Inhibit Innovation and Productivity?
- Skills-Based 3-month Masterclasses
We have contracted 3 individuals to run monthly masterclasses in their area of expertise which are:
– Coding for Community Organising
– Digital Marketing
– Career Advice
If these go well, we will looking for more workshop leaders in Spring next year.
I really want to make SPACE4 feel like a flexible and lively community space for all of your networks. If you or your organisations are interested in ANY of the above (or anything more), don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at natasha@outlandish.com. I’m also usually in SPACE4 Tuesday to Thursday, if you want to stop by my desk, though it’s worth sending me an email to double check I’m around.