From May 27 to June 2 this year I documented this year’s Cologne edition of the Touch&Play festival. In addition to taking a great many photos, I learned a great deal about taking photos at festivals. I also immersed myself in David Bloom’s unforgettable intensive, which began with a groundbreaking foot washing ritual that set the stage for further transformation in David’s class and beyond. My week of learning and relating was challenging in a way I felt equipped to handle. It was also profoundly sweet, with people open to one another, truth easy to access, and vulnerability (mine included) revealing its subtle power as the days and nights went by. And while I was pretty busy snapping photos and sorting through files, I was also uniquely present as a participant because documenting human connection itself requires a tremendous willingness to engage in human connection.

Ten weeks on, my photos have been sorted, edited, viewed, reviewed, and prepared for the T&P archives, but the wild-yet-wholesome energy of T&P Cologne is still fresh in my mind. The experience I gained is clear and easy to convert into action. And many of the people I befriended, met, or simply noticed have already been enriching and even re-directing my life.

The photos I’m sharing here are just a taste of the festival. I hope it’s one that increases your appetite for co-creation and authenticity.

Posted with permission from the organizers, Daniel Hayes and Anni Popanda, as well as the pictured T&P Cologne ’24 participants. (Explicit and implied permission is non-binding and can be revoked at any time. If you’d like your photo removed from this post, let me know.)

If my post seems as though it’s leaving a lot to the imagination, that’s because it is. (Even the omission of hyperlinks is intentional.) If you have questions about the Touch&Play project or this year’s Cologne edition of the festival, feel free to start a conversation.