The Octobering workshop is available for classes (grades 3 to 6) and groups of at least six people. Please contact public@cca.qc.ca for information or to schedule this workshop.

Octobering introduces students to the idea of everyday rituals. We start with a historical example in post-revolutionary Russia, where the government invented rituals and civic ceremonies to produce a new society. Students will explore how images, gestures, objects, spaces, actions, and ceremonies continue to guide and reinforce social values today.

The workshop leads students to imagine what rituals might shape a better world. First, they will give themselves new revolutionary names, and then they will join forces in small groups to invent new social rituals.

Part 1:

• A presentation introducing the naming ceremony Octobering and a brief history of early Soviet rituals
• A group discussion and mapping of values, ideas, and names.
• An individual re-naming activity to invent a new name based on the values they choose to promote.

Part 2:

• An introduction to the idea of ritual as a communicative action and consideration of daily events as rituals. What are contemporary rituals? What values do these events communicate to us and how?
• A workshop in which students develop, in groups of three, a ritual for the kind of world they want to live in. Who takes part in it? Where does it take place? And what tools and actions does it involve?
• In a series of short presentations, each team will act out their ritual and share the ideas that informed its development.

Octobering is offered year-round in either French or English. It can be led by our Public team through a video call or in person at the CCA. To make a reservation or for more information, please contact us at public@cca.qc.ca or call +1 514 939 7002.