Convivial Gatherings has been set up by the award winning artist, researcher, creative educator and facilitator, Rachel Jacobs.

Rachel’s socially and environmentally engaged artworks have toured nationally and internationally. Rachel is lead artist on the 30 year arts/research project ‘Future Machine & When the Future Comes‘, that takes place in five curious places across England, at the same time every year as the seasons change. She co-founded the artist-led collective Active Ingredient in 1996 and the commercial games company Mudlark Production Company in 2007. She co-produced a series of British-Brazilian projects between 2007-2017, travelling regularly to Brazil to work with schools, artists, botanists and in the Mata Atlantica.

Rachel is also an academic. She is an Associate Researcher at Horizon Digital Economy, University of Nottingham since 2018, where she completed a Doctorate in Computer Science in 2014 and was a Research Fellow at Horizon Digital Economy 2017-2018, Visiting Research Fellow at Central St Martins, UAL (2019-2022) and An Associate Lecturer at Birkbeck College (2023). She publishes and presents regularly in academic and arts contexts.

For more information about Rachel Jacobs visit: www.i-am-ai.net

In the future Rachel will be working with other artists, a therapist, yoga instructor, educators, craft makers, conservationists and a chef to help bring the convivial gatherings together.

Testimonials

“Rachel brings such a fabulous combination of imagination, intelligence, warmth and laughter to her work. She has a real gift for drawing people into a shared exploration of what matters in life, unlocking spaces in which the collective wisdom of the group can emerge and develop in exciting ways.  With her feet firmly on the ground, she weaves a kind of magic that is a true gift. I always leave her sessions feeling hopeful and renewed.”