FLOAT - Feral MBA 2023
FLOAT – Feral MBA
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS - NOW CLOSED - COURSE FULL!
Read a report from the inaugural FLOAT - Feral MBA - here!
BUNG YARNDA / LAKE TYERS and ICEWORKS STUDIO LAKES ENTRANCE, EAST GIPPSLAND, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA. STARTS: 25+26 FEBRUARY, ENDS: 1+2 APRIL 2023. WE WORK TOGETHER + APART IN THE WEEKS BETWEEN. PARTICIPATION FEE $525.
The Feral MBA is a radically re-imagined training course in business for artists and others. It responds to the towering failure of business-as-usual to maintain a liveable planet. The focus of this uncommon business gathering is not on 'making it' in an extractive economy whose core assumptions of competition, productivity and endless growth are unarguably bankrupt. Instead, the aim is to provision ourselves with experimental skills and vital camaraderie to test out other ways of doing and being in business.
This 2023 gathering of the Feral MBA will be hosted by FLOAT, Bung Yarnda / Lake Tyers, East Gippsland, VIctoria, Australia.
Over the 5-week run of the programme, we will examine our own projects and livelihood practices in relation to business and economy. The curriculum will take the form of seminars, hands-on workshops, homework assignments and public events. Drawing on resources from art to feminist economics, we will consider a radical understanding of economy as 'surviving well together'. Activities may include field trips to local enterprises, (feral) business coaching, and rethinking the 'dull' space of management and administration as also a place for wild imaginaries and meaningful work. We will further and primarily open up own business ideas and livelihood endeavours to collective investigation – to think together as a group on the quandaries of survival and livelihood, and how things could be different.
Practicalities
To attend the FLOAT – Feral MBA you must be willing and able to be in East Gippsland for the opening and closing weekend intensives – 25+26 Feb and 1+2 April (these sessions will start at 11AM on the Saturday to enable time for travellers to arrive). Our physical base will be ICEWORKS STUDIO – 5 Carpenter St, Lakes Entrance 3909 (home of FLOAT’s Artist Run Initiative + Sunday Market on the FRONT lawn). And @ the FLOAT Vessel, Fisherman’s Landing, Bung Yarnda.
The interim weeks of the Feral MBA will be conducted remotely (with additional options to meet up for those in the Lakes Entrance/Lake Tyers area). A good internet connection will be helpful, but you can also join activities by phone. Time commitment will be 4 hours per week, largely organised around your own scheduling needs.
Participant call:
We invite applications from: artists, activists, artist-run and community initiatives, small business operators, freelancers, farmers, creative administrators and any others working with or curious about radical and experimental business methods. Individuals and small delegations are welcome to apply. To attend the course you are expected to 'Bring your own Business'. This can be in any form, from an established endeavour to a business idea or dream.
How to apply:
Please send a maximum of one A4 page, summarising your own business/practice and your interest in the Feral MBA, template here. Email your application to: fMBA@feraltrade.org by 15 January 2023 (midnight). Successful applicants will be notified by January 22. Participants are asked to commit to the full run of activities (the two weekend intensives and 4 hours per week in the interim weeks) in order to secure a place. Any questions about the programme – or the application process – please contact us at the same email address.
What it will cost:
Questions of funding and livelihood are at the heart of the Feral MBA project. The FLOAT – Feral MBA will operate on a mixed economy of revenue, resources and relationships. The participation fee is $525 - although there will be some low-priced places for those who may need to invest less, while those with access to institutional or workplace funding (such as professional development funds) will be asked for a higher contribution (see the FAQ below). Your fee will include all the group events and programme materials, 1:1 feral business coaching with Kate Rich, and meals and refreshments at the weekend events. You will need to cover your own travel and accommodation for the two weekend intensives. We can help with local accommodation options: contact float.ltb@gmail.com.
Sponsored places:
We are excited to announce four fully sponsored places on the programme for East Gippsland residents who lack access to funding. Please state on your application if this applies to you.
Artist statement:
The Feral MBA is an endeavour by artist, trader and feral economist Kate Rich.
For more information on the Feral MBA see here.
Host statement:
FLOAT has a long track record in regional arts and a dedication to our School of Untourism, the Observatorium and FLOAT AIR (a far east arts residency network).
FAQ
- FERAL MBA – RUNS OVER 5 WEEKS. Feb 25 TO APRIL 2, 2023.
- BOOKENDED BY AN OPENING & CLOSING WEEKEND INTENSIVE 25+26 Feb and 1+2 April. IN LAKES ENTRANCE/LAKE TYERS (3909).
- REMOTE PARTICIPATION FOR THE INTERIM WEEKS, PARTICIPANTS WILL NEED TO COMMIT 4 HOURS PER WEEK, THESE TIMES WILL BE FLEXIBLE TO FIT WITH YOUR OWN SCHEDULE.
- MAX. 18 PARTICIPANTS.
- INDIVIDUALS AND THOSE REPRESENTING AN ORGANISATION ARE WELCOME TO APPLY.
- ALL SHOULD HAVE AN ACTUAL OR NOTIONAL BUSINESS IDEA - SEE OUR DEFINITION OF *BUSINESS BELOW
- PARTICIPANT FEE: $525
- A LIMITED NUMBER OF SPONSORED PLACES OPEN TO LOW-INCOME APPLICANTS
- ORGANISATIONS AND THOSE WITH ACCESS TO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUNDING PAY MORE (PRICE TO BE NEGOTIATED AS PART OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS)
- BUSINESS SPONSORS WELCOME – CONTACT US TO FIND OUT MORE - fMBA@feraltrade.org
- APPLICATION DEADLINE: JANUARY 15th, TEMPLATE HERE, MAIL TO fMBA@feraltrade.org.
* THE FERAL MBA IS WORKING WITH A TRANSFORMATIVE DEFINITION OF 'BUSINESS' AS 'ANY PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITY THAT COULD BRING US SUSTENANCE'
