Following the introductory Catalyst Circle session in February, we convened the March conversation around the theme of ‘The Moment’. As this monthly series begins, we were curious about what a conversation between the Catalyst Circle - a diverse network of practitioners situated across the planet - might illuminate about where we stand in 2026, as an older world order begins to fall away, and multiple and interconnected crises intensify. Gathering just a few days after the US-Israeli attack on Iran began, the brutality and urgency of these crises felt very present.
The group was smaller than expected for a number of reasons, and we were reminded of adrienne maree-brown’s words: “There is a conversation in the room that only these people at this moment can have. Find it.” Our hour together became a conversation that would not otherwise have happened between Maria Rosario Montero, feminist research-artist in Santiago, Chile, and Oscar Umwanzisiwemuremi, Museum Management Specialist at the Museum of the Environment in Kibuye, Rwanda, with remote contributions from Devina Shah and Vivekan Jeyagaran.
It was striking that, prompted by an invitation to reflect on the poly-crisis, this conversation kept returning us to our relationship with the rest of nature. Maria spoke about her practice in conversation with trees, mountains and water as fellow beings; Oscar the significance of the cow as a symbol of shared identity following the Rwandan genocide. In their written contributions, Devina spoke of slowing down as a radical act, while Vivekan reflected on ancestral connection, and the ancient ways of the natural world continuing to resist, thrive, and adapt.
In a closing reflection, Maria offered the concept of ‘Ch’ixi’, an Aymara concept denoting that which is, in Maria’s words, “not white, not black, but not grey either. It’s all the colours at the same time”. In Maria’s telling, Ch’ixi is an invitation to move beyond perceived binaries of indigenous/ ‘European’, or nature/ human, and embrace the mix of backgrounds and experiences that give all of us a “Ch’ixi heart”.
Watch the session here.