The Tale and the Tongue: Getting Along with Discomfort

<p><em>Getting Along with Discomfort</em> is episode 21 of <em>The Tale and the Tongue</em> podcast series, which follows a conversation with curator and researcher Rita Ouédraogo on the importance of conversation and exchanges in processes and learning to get along with discomfort.</p> <p>Honesty, something that Rita Ouédraogo brings to this conversation, allows us to know what we can do and where we stand. Many misunderstandings in processes come from not explaining from the start what the conditions and intentions of the projects we work on are. Making them available provides a better understanding of the given structures in which we can work but cannot change. As she says, listening is an essential part of conversation. Discomfort is something that Rita Ouédraogo relates to many of her experiences, from different positions and meanings. Far from being a stable place, discomfort is a situation that arises, that morphs, and that never quite goes away. What is more, for Rita Ouédraogo it can become a curatorial strategy. Acknowledging that discomfort exists, is knowing how to listen to it when it appears.</p>