DS4SI works with artists to find new ways of exploring and exposing the nuances of culture—working with their skills in the realms of the symbolic, the unspoken and the possible. By doing so, we aim for a better understanding of how people, communities, and cultures make and act upon collective meaning. Understanding these aspects of social life makes it possible to work within them as a points of leverage for social change. This paper explores three cultural tactics we've found effective in our work.

This paper shares how Public Kitchen and Dance Court use scenography (the practice of crafting environments or atmospheres) to give participants a glimpse into world-building, by inviting them to improvise and co-create temporary spaces where a more vibrant and just world already exists.

Planning is great when you have a working solution that you need to execute: a business plan, an annual event, a strategic plan, meeting agenda, wedding, travel, etc. Unfortunately, we often slide into planning when we really need to be designing. Design is both problem solving and world building. Design when you are solving a complex problem, when you are trying to imagine a new arrangement, and/or you notice that you’re cobbling together pre-existing solutions, etc.

Our “5 S’s” include: Structure, System, Scale, Symbol and Sensation. The "5 S's" can help us fully explore the terrain we’re working in before we begin selecting our approach. Coming back to them later can remind us if we fall into habits of just using some of them. When we fail to think across all five, we can end up intervening at the wrong scale or with a symbol that doesn’t resonate, etc.