Rite de transition – a design choreographic exploration of cultural value exchange, through development of intercultural ritual artefacts

⌈Résumé⌋ This research project is called Rite de transition. By means of DesignChoreography, an approach developed by Sietske Klooster, we explore the rituals revolving around traditional Turkish marriage. In due course, inspired by an emotional and auto-ethnographic interpretation of the explored rituals, Klooster designs a novel ritual and artefact that intend to embody shared values, hence intercultural exchange. We choose for a bodily first person approach as we estimate that the complexities of the modern world – i.e. cultural clashes and the breakdown of cultures – require a radical change in tackling these issues. We suggest to move away from pure rational analytic approach our society adhered to. We are on the verge of a new era that embraces diversity and organic interaction that cannot and does not have to be standardized, fixed or rigidly defined anymore. Our approach is based on embodiment and phenomenology, allowing us to diverge from narrowing down broad societal and cultural issues to mere rational thinking and judging. We use DesignChoreography as a vehicle, since the knowing and making body can experience meanings and values that lie underneath visual appearance. By doing so we bring about our bodily understanding for intercultural interaction and exchange.