RSA Pavilion - Living harmoniously in a fractured world

Living Better Together

How can we live more harmoniously in a fractured world? Join us this October for a three-day event exploring how we can live better together – across cultures, borders, identities, and bodies.

Through conversation, performance, and creative exchange, we’ll celebrate the many ways art, movement, and human connection can foster inclusion and peace in a fractious world.

The RSA Pavilion is an off-site companion to the 2025 World Expo Osaka – a space to connect with peers, make connections and engage in conversations that go beyond the surface. Fellows of the RSA who are showcasing their work will invite you to reflect, share, and explore what it means to live harmoniously in today’s complex world.

Themes

The RSA showcase will explore wide-ranging themes affecting communities across the globe:

• Cross-Cultural Connection – From tea ceremonies to powerful storytelling of textile legacies, how do we honour and learn from one another’s traditions?
• International Relations & Peacebuilding – Art and sound as acts of remembrance and healing in a post-conflict world.
• Embodied Communication – What does it mean to connect beyond words? Explore how our physical presence shapes understanding.

Featuring performances and works by:

• Charlotte Cory FRSA: Six Months of Dreaming – Join us for a quintessentially British afternoon tea and a reimagining of Japanese designer Yutaka Kajikawa’s forgotten Art Deco textile dreams.

• John Biddulph FRSA & Emi Sisk FRSA: Sound and Vision for Peace – An immersive sound piece and reflective artworks honouring the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima.

• Kaoruco & Api-Lucky: Radical Connection in Motion – A joyful and expressive dance piece by an inclusive performance group, blending movement, improvisation, and radical connection.

• Kaz Yoneda FRSA: In-between-ness – A thought-provoking talk on how architecture in Japan shapes the way we live, connect, and experience space.

• Kristin Engvig FRSA: Wisdom Across Cultures – The founder of Women International Networking explores how cross-cultural collaboration can expand harmony and humanise our work and lives.

• Yasuko Irie FRSA: The Art of Matcha – A hands-on tea ceremony workshop exploring the ritual, beauty, and connection found in traditional Japanese tea culture.

• Tania Coke FRSA and Kentaro Suyama (tarinainanika theatre company): The Thinking Body – performance and talk highlighting the power of the human body to express and connect, drawing on the theatrical tradition of Corporeal Mime.

• Dr. Rachel Sweeney (Schumacher WILD): Weaving more than Human Stories - a practical movement based workshop introducing creative, nature-based learning approaches that foster a deeper understanding of our interconnected world.

• Akane Hiraoka FRSA: AI Driven Industries - a presentation on how AI and VR is transforming a spectrum of industries, from entertainment and gaming, to manufacturing, design and commerce.

• Nick Luscombe FRSA: Deep Listening – an invitation into a practice of deep listening, combining guided listening exercises with immersive soundscapes.

Proudly partnering with Flying Carpet Factory https://en.tarinainanika.com/.

Directions to venue - https://youtu.be/BOOPRsOjhbY

Programme:

Friday 3 October:

6pm - Welcome in! Doors open.

6.30pm - Charlotte Cory FRSA: Six Months of Dreaming

7pm - Welcome to the RSA - Jessica Robson

7.15pm - Rachel Sweeney: Weaving more than Human Stories

8pm - John Biddulph FRSA & Emi Sisk FRSA: Sound and Vision for Peace

9pm - Farewells

Saturday 4 October:

2.30pm - Welcome in! Doors open.

3pm - Charlotte Cory FRSA: Six Months of Dreaming

4pm - Welcome to the RSA - Jessica Robson

4.30pm - Kristin Engvig FRSA: Wisdom Across Cultures

5pm - Tania Coke FRSA and Kentaro Suyama / tarinainanika theatre company: The Thinking Body

6pm - Networking and cocktails

7.30pm - Farewells

Sunday 5 October:

1pm - Welcome in! Doors open.

1.30pm - Nick Luscombe FRSA: Deep Listening

2pm - Yasuko Irie FRSA: The Art of Matcha

3.30pm - Welcome to the RSA - Jessica Robson

4pm - Kaz Yoneda FRSA: In-between-ness

4.30pm - Akane Hiraoka FRSA: AI Driven Industries

5pm - Kaoruco & Api-Lucky: Radical Connection in Motion

6pm - Farewells

Taking part in RSA in-person events  

To participate in this event, you will need to register for a ticket so that we can manage capacity. Our events are frequently oversubscribed so if you are subsequently unable to attend, please cancel your Eventbrite booking so we can make room for others on the Wait List.  

Accessibility and Inclusivity 

At the RSA, we strive to create an inclusive and supportive environment for all Fellows. We ask that you fill out the accessibility requirements box in your Eventbrite booking form in advance of our events to ensure that we can accommodate such requirements. 

Join Circle and connect with others who attend this event 

Join Circle, the RSA’s community platform, to stay up to date on the latest events, connect with Fellows across the world, and engage with the RSA Design for Life mission. To get started on Circle, you need to have a My RSA account. If you already have a My RSA account, your account details will be the same for Circle. 

Data and Personal Information 

By registering for this event you consent to receiving communications about this event, both before and after, and you agree to the sharing of your name, organisation & title with the Fellow(s) and/or partner organisation(s) hosting this event. Attendees also agree to the sharing of their name and organisation with other delegates at the event so that they might contact you. If you do not wish this information to be shared, please let us know by emailing: fellowship@rsa.org.uk. 

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Please be aware that registrations will close two hours before the event is due to start.