The Play Play: a play as practice session vol.2
Sunday, March 22, 2026 | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM EST
Online via Zoom
Presented by The Future in Black
We're doing this again.
After the first Play Play in January, people remembered something important: making things can just feel good. No strategy required. No outcome needed. Just the pure pleasure of creating something to see what happens.
So we're making it official: The Play Play happens every third Sunday of the month.
This is your standing invitation to remember what making things felt like before it needed to be productive.
Remember when making things felt like magic?
Before your creative practice had a strategy. Before every sketch needed a purpose. Before "just playing around" turned into "wasting time."
The Play Play is your permission slip to get that feeling back.
This is Play as Practice™ in action—90 minutes of structured wandering, guided experimentation, and zero expectation that what you make needs to be anything other than interesting to you.
No deliverables. No critique. No hustle.
Just pure, unfiltered creative exploration.
Bring any medium that sparks joy: watercolors, Figma, RunwayML, your grandmother's typewriter, ChatGPT, embroidery thread, whatever. We don't care what you use. We care that you play.
What Goes Down
🌊 Get Grounded (10 min) — Leave productivity brain at the door
🧩 Context Setting (10 min) — Why we stopped playing & why it matters
🎪 The Wander (55 min) — Prompts designed to spark curiosity, not results
🪞 Reflection (15 min) — Notice what lit you up
✨ Close (10 min) — Take the permission with you
The Vibe
Camera on or off—your energy, your choice.
Share your work or keep it private.
Follow the prompts or go completely off-script.
Use traditional tools, digital tools, AI tools, no tools.
There are no wrong answers because there are no answers at all.
Who Should Come
Creatives, strategists, writers, designers, builders, and thinkers who:
Feel like they've forgotten how to make things "just because"
Want creative space that isn't attached to ROI
Miss that feeling of getting lost in making something
Need a reminder that having fun is allowed
All skill levels. All backgrounds. All mediums. All welcome.
Returning from Vol. 1? Welcome back. New here? Jump right in.
What to Bring
Your favorite creative medium (or three)
Zoom access & a quiet-ish space
Willingness to be a little weird
Zero attachment to "doing it right"
About Play as Practice™
Play as Practice™ is a methodology that treats play as essential creative infrastructure—not a break from "real work," but the foundation of it.
Play is how we rehearse possibility. It's how we practice imagining before we're required to execute.
It's serious work disguised as fun. Or maybe it's fun that happens to produce serious insights. Either way, it works.
About The Future in Black™
The Future in Black is a cultural intelligence institution exploring how imagination, play, and emerging technology shape the futures we're actively building.
Founded by Joy Fennell—Creative Director, AI Artist, Adobe Express Ambassador, OpenAI Alpha Artist, and Runway Creative Partner.
Joy has spent 20+ years in fashion and beauty, working with heritage luxury brands, and now creates Afro-Surrealist AI art featured in Chanel's Arts & Culture magazine and exhibited internationally.
Learn more: thefutureinblack.com
The Details
📅 Sunday, March 22, 2026
⏰ 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM EST
💻 Zoom (link sent 24 hours before)
💸 $35
Not recorded. This is live, ephemeral, in-the-moment only.
The Play Play happens every third Sunday of the month. Mark your calendar.
FAQs
Do I need to turn my camera on?
Nope. Show up however feels good.
Can I use AI tools?
Absolutely. Use whatever medium calls to you.
Will I have to share what I make?
Only if you want to. This isn't show-and-tell unless you make it that.
What if I don't know what to make?
Perfect. That's the point. The prompts will guide you.
What if I get stuck?
Even better. We'll work with that.
Is this the same as Vol. 1?
Same structure, same energy, different prompts. Every session is its own experience.
What happens after?
You'll get a follow-up email with info about future sessions and the Play as Practice community.
Questions? DM @thefutureinblack
Get lost on purpose.
No outcomes required. No permission needed.
We play. We wander. We remember.