In an age of constant notifications, infinite scroll, and algorithmic feeds, our connection and command over our own attention is increasingly threatened. What was once a basic, and even sacred human faculty is now a contested resource—shaped, fragmented, and often commodified by the technologies we use every day. In response, a growing movement of thinkers and practitioners has begun to ask how we can actively reclaim our attention?
This session explores the emerging idea of “attention activism”—a cultural and philosophical response to the erosion of our attentional lives. What does it look like to rebuild the habits, environments, and forms of awareness that allow for deeper focus, presence, and agency?
Tusk & Quill will host an interview and workshop session with Peter Schmidt, co-founder and Program Director of the Strother School of Radical Attention in New York City. The conversation will focus on the school’s approach to designing a curriculum aimed at reconnecting individuals with their faculty of attention, as well as its broader efforts to cultivate attention as a shared social and civic concern.
The session will include a discussion with Peter, followed by audience Q&A and a series of guided attention practices.