While we wait in the particularly warm room for the fashion show to begin, my mind drifts to wonder about what a fashion show looks like and if I will enjoy it. I have never been to a fashion show before, but my partner, an artist and physical health enthusiast, wanted to attend. Finally, the music starts and the first model enters. The model starts by taking some timid steps on the runway and stops for a pose. But it seems that, slowly but surely, the model is gaining confidence and is taking the reins of the runway. By the end of their walk, their confidence unbinds and releases through the room; they are beautiful. It reminded me of our play practice yesterday, and the talk of Giana Ryan (2026) who brought communities of mathematicians, artists, and mathematician-artists together with mathematical stitching. The fashion show was amazing, I enjoyed every second, especially seeing people being proud of their work and the confidence the models had. This whole conference is a demonstration of bringing people together, becoming a community.
Su (2020) talked about mathematics for human flourishing, but what if we move away from an anthropocentric view and look at mathematics for flourishing of all. Moving away from an anthropocentric perspective in school is necessary if we want our students to become part of the caretaker of our home, the planet Earth (UNESCO, 2020). It seems that arts have the power to create a sense of community, thus using arts to express mathematical ideas or creating mathematical arts becomes mathematics for flourishing. And it does not have to end with human communities, it can help develop a sense of community between humans and non-humans, relationships that most of us lost long ago and that we desperately need to rebuild. A sense of community and belonging is extremely important for humans to thrive (Kimmerer, 2024). From what I have witnessed in the conference, this sense of belonging provides people with a healthy amount of confidence, an amount that makes you believe you can push the limits and be successful.
References
Kimmerer, R. W. (2024, Nov. 21). Practical reverence [Interview]. Emergence. https://emergencemagazine.org/conversation/practical-reverence
Ryan, G. (2026). Threaded theorems: hand embroidery as mathematics outreach [Conference presentation]. Bridges 2026, Galway, Ireland.
Su, F. E. (2020). Mathematics for human flourishing. Yale University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvt1sgss
UNESCO. (2020). Learning to become with the world: Education for future survival. Common Worlds Research Collective. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374032
Noemi, I loved the image of the model becoming increasingly confident as they moved down the runway. I think that image captures something you are also describing about this conference. There was a confidence that seemed to grow when people found their place within the community, whether through mathematics, art, performance, making, or simply being willing to share an idea. It takes vulnerability to share creative works.
ReplyDeleteI experienced that sense of community at Bridges too. I think that is one of the things that surprised me most. I expected to learn about mathematics and art and feel out of my depth, but I did not necessarily expect to feel that I could possibly begin to feel like I might belong. There was something about the willingness of people to share their work, their questions, and even their unfinished thinking that made it feel safe to participate.
I also really appreciated your movement from mathematics for human flourishing toward the flourishing of all. That idea makes me think about what it means to create relationships not only among people but between people and the more-than-human world. Perhaps this is another reason the arts can be such a powerful way into mathematics. They can help us notice relationships, patterns, place, materials, and the world around us in ways that are not always available through more traditional mathematical representations. I know seeing the visual representations that are possible from the mathematics makes me curious to know more.
Your idea also made me think about what I have learned from the Syilx Okanagan tradition. Elder Randy has taught me about “all our relations”—the rocks, trees, rivers, and other beings with whom we are connected. Naming and recognizing these relationships matter. In that understanding, community extends beyond humans. Perhaps naming and noticing these relationships is itself a way of creating community. I love the idea of extending flourishing beyond an anthropocentric view and recognizing that our flourishing is connected to the flourishing of the more-than-human world.
One thing I am taking from Bridges is that community does not just happen because people are in the same place. It happens when people are given opportunities to participate, contribute, and be seen. When that happens, confidence seems to follow. And perhaps that confidence then gives us the courage to step a little further into the community and to see our connections beyond ourselves.
@Noemie,
ReplyDeleteYour post connected so many beautiful things together succinctly: sense of community, mathematics for the flourishing of our world, and the importance of relationships.
As an Earth Science teacher, I am constantly thinking about our plant, its health, and the cycling of resources and their impacts on our climate and local environments. The health of every living thing on the planet depends on the health of the smallest living creatures on the planet. A straightforward example could be the largest creatures on earth - the massive 30 meter long blue whales - having a diet entirely consistent of tiny krill. The krill populations can be impacted by high concentration of microplastics thereby negatively affecting the whales.
I observe in my daily life that the sense of ownership of the land is high with passersby taking pride in being Canadian, but the sense of stewardship of the land is lacking with a consumer and settler mentality ready to expand and escape rather than repair and restore. Using mathematics for the flourishing of the planet is definitely the end goal and we've got quite the jumpstart through our experiences with mathematics for Social Justice. With the prevalence of 'non-math people' being socially acceptable identities, and the desperate need for (re)storying workshops globally, I agree with your statement: "It seems that arts have the power to create a sense of community, thus using arts to express mathematical ideas or creating mathematical arts becomes mathematics for flourishing."
At the very least, mathematical art (disguised as just "art") will be able to take mathematical ideas and provide a visceral and visual invitation to awareness of the issues of our planet and society. The artistic representation allows it to be approachable and inviting, a means for discussion and interpretation, rather than correctness and accuracy (Lester, 2026).
Reference:
Lester, G. (2026) Art as Mathematical Representation: A Practice-Based Investigation of Cognition and Pedagogy. Proceedings of Bridges 2026: Mathematics and the Arts. 553–556.