This workshop is navigating the spaces in-between and meeting those who inhabit them. We will map out a free research in which there is no necessity, but there is a sense of urgency and curiosity. What kind of research is this? Why can't we not do it? In this imaginary exercise, it is important for us to be open and courageous, as well as to observe ourselves—with the help of various tools, colleagues, and self-reflection. The way we map this research will help open up a discussion of research ethics in the space between Knowledge and the Unknownness. What is this space? How can we describe it? How do we behave there? I will suggest using tools developed by decolonial theory and practice so that we have navigational beacons and clues as we immerse ourselves in this in-between space.

Denis Esakov

father, migrant, researcher, writer, educator, curator. Born and raised in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan. As a result of several migrations he arrived in Berlin, where he now lives and works. Denis received his MA from the Art Academy Weißensee (Berlin) under the supervision of Prof.Dr. Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung (SAVVY Contemporary, Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), Berlin). The result of his presence in a two-year program dedicated to the study of the space of decoloniality (Raumstartegien) is a published book that explores the Production of Knowledge and the marking of the problems of power domination within it, embedded in colonial (his)story. The book is called Attentive Curiosity of notUnderstandingness. Denis' main research interest is Knowledge Production and Alternative Archives, discovering spaces for orality and other forms of discourse about the past and the shaping of (Her)story. Denis' main curatorial method is relations building and multilingualism. Since Denis was born and raised in the complex mixed space of the Yssyk-Köl region, a border area between Kyrgyzstan, China and Qazaqstan, which is home to a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi- religious community and complex (her)story his interest in creolization practices is fundamentally important.