If you weren’t working, what work would you be working on?

In the 24/7 age of non-stop work, it seems more outrageous than ever to deploy Bartleby the Scrivener’s polite response to demands from his boss.

DesignInquiry invites curious makers and thinkers from all disciplines to around / work, a six-day residency designed to consider these questions. Join us in a radical reimagining of work by proposing a project that responds to or frames the work that brings you joy, pleasure, and sustenance. Projects can revolve around your current work or spin into a new orbit; iterate on an existing idea; or benefit from an exchange. We invite individuals as well as collaborative teams to apply.

“I would prefer not to.”
~ Herman Melville, Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street

We’ll gather for a collaborative design residency on the island of Vinalhaven off the coast of Maine to spin these ideas around and through the work we make. How might a communal gathering impact your work?

Request an application questionnaire at info@designinquiry.net. If funding is an issue, we invite you to inquire about a scholarship.

June 18–24, 2023
Vinalhaven, Maine

$825.00 USD contribution to cover housing, groceries for shared meals, and some drinks. Limited scholarships are available. 24 applicants will be accepted. Proof of vaccination (including booster) is required.

DesignInquiry invites you to participate from afar: Join us on our Discord server to contribute to the melee (ideas, critique, resources, articles, images, video, writing, etc.) and add your address to DI’s snail mail database to sometimes receive happy mail.

(If you are new to Discord, here’s a beginner’s guide).

DesignInquiry is a non-profit educational organization devoted to researching design issues in intensive team-based gatherings. An alternative to the design conference, it brings together practitioners from disparate fields to generate new wrk and ideas around a single topic. 

Visit our website  | Follow us on Instagram | Join us on Discord