SPARK
SI-012, from issue3, 2022.
The only strategy you need is to be nice to everyone.
Elie Andersen is a graphic designer and the director of Index Space, a mixed-use community center in NYC offering peer-led workshops, public conversations, activities and events. It exists as the sequel space of XXXI, a shared studio and public space for non-commercial interests.
UDÖ Thinking of building communities, what were you thinking about around the time of your thesis at RISD?
DL I wanted to create a sustainable utopian community. Both in an environmental sense, but also re-thinking how people come together. When I was at RISD, I started hosting a lot of parties and eventually all my work for class involved gathering people around a uniform space.
UDÖ How do you approach organizing gatherings?
DL I recently read this book called Art of Gathering by Priya Parker and it got me thinking about: “Who is included?” or “How does the door get closed to create a safe space for the people who are there?”. Don’t forget the importance of being a benevolent leader: “How do you lead with purpose and conviction?”. These questions are more implicit than explicit in my actual day-to-day hosting because my personality kicks in. The only strategy you need is to be nice to everyone. Lean on your social skills and you will notice the loudest noise in the room or who is not included. No strategy is better than the sheer power of social observations.
UDÖ What do you do when there is an annoyingly loud voice in the room?
DL The physical space of Index has closed during Covid, so we are now only operating digitally. Although I have never been a digital person, I found out that it is actually easier to be a host on Zoom. For instance, we had a Swiss graphic designer as a visiting speaker and (very classic) middle aged German man was just going on-and-on. It’s easier to move onto the next participant, when there is a 300+ audience online. I have also become a much more discerning audience member after running events. I just ask myself: “What gets on my nerves?” and “What can I do to make that easier on others?”.
UDÖ I guess, when you are in the position of leading events, you have to take that initiative. Index also has this philosophy of the hamburger bun. What does that really mean?
DL As we are thinking about what types of programs we want to offer, we noticed that we had a point-of-view and a political stance. Buns emerged as a way to define what we like to do and what we don’t want to offer. We were feeling critical of the world of graphic design and its obsession with the final product (and image). It represented this superficiality that we didn’t think it needed to be centered anymore. That’s why, Index is not about the work, it is about the environment around the work. How does the work get made? That’s the bottom bun. Why does the work get made? Top bun. One of my graphic designer friends lives in Puebla and then he says: “What they are doing in Amsterdam, has nothing to do with what I am doing in Mexico!” One can’t say Yale design is superior to Mexico because the context is different.
UDÖ I am questioning that idea though. Perhaps, a community is more like a pond with an island in the middle. My father always says read all the newspapers you can.
DL Love the idea of a body of water with shores. Not everyone is a fanatic about post-work culture and anti-capitalism, but everyone dips into those waters in different periods of their lives. There is so much more to someone than what they do for a living.
UDÖ I also developed this inner fear that I will become a boring person as I dip my toes into being a designer.(Looking back to this remark years later, I am actually far more hopeful about the life of being a designer entails, regardless, back to the story...)
DL That’s what I was afraid of too, so I moved to a farm in Mallorca for a few months. I was originally there to figure my life out, but ended up meeting wonderful people. Similarly, you find people with similar values when you enter the work field too. You are constantly collaging things that make sense to you: I hear the word anti-establishment once and it immediately resonated with me.
UDÖ What about the notion of anti-establishment attracted you?
DL Have you ever seen Annie hall by Woody Allen? (He is very canceled, I know.) The movie starts with a joke that says: “I would never belong to any club that would have me as a member.”. I was also at a time in RISD where everybody was glorifying Silicon Valley but the idea of having my whole life be dedicated to corporations gave me the creeps. Facebook literally profits on people disagreeing with each other. However, real community is the opposite of that. Real community fosters understanding between people.
UDÖ If you were to be asked about anything, what would you like to get asked?
DL My background and my family. They set the stage for who I am. Part of conversation is the desire to be understood correctly. When you enter into a conversation with people and they understand something about your family or your background, they are more likely to not misunderstand you. My father is an environmental journalist and my mom is a graphic designer. So it’s only natural that my approach to life is a blend of their interests.
Follow Elie Andersen here
& Index Space here
interview by Utkan Dora Öncül
Spark Interview-012