Learning Non-Human

Learning non-Human is a project that documents FACT's ongoing learning about its environmental responsibility and its relation to the more-than-human world. The project began as an online game by artist Jack Tan that identified non-human conflicts in Liverpool and enabled people who played as more-than-human persons to propose legal or policy changes. By 'more-than-human world', FACT acknowledges that humans and human institutions are entangled with animals, plants, objects, ecologies, and environmental systems beyond the human.

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Learning Non-Human Glossary

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Over 12 weeks, Jack worked collaboratively with an intergenerational group of participants and the Learning Team at FACT to create an MPV (minimum viable product) version of the game called Non-Humans of Liverpool. Gameplay was tested in a citywide tournament and at FACT as a governance and environmental planning tool.

Over this time, we realised that the learning process itself was the most productive and artistically interesting aspect of the project, in particular, the process of trying to put ourselves in the position of a non-human person and seeing/smelling/feeling for our shared world as they do. We had to question how we learned and articulated non-human interests into arguments that made sense to human decision-makers. Ultimately, this project was an attempt to perceive and understand the non-human Other, and to enable a space for practical inclusion of them in our laws and our ways of living and working.

About the Project

Because this learning, imagining and inclusion is ongoing, Learning Non-Human is presented here as the story of the project's journey so far and a growing collection of resources.

Discover the project through a Text Adventure

Coming soon! From 11 June, you can read about Learning Non-Human in a text adventure which tells the story of the project from start to end.

Meet the artist and the collaborators behind the project

Find out more about artist Jack Tan and the six collaborators on the project plus our team of judges and testers that took part in the 12 week process.

Curatorial Essay

Explore the game via curatorial text. Choose your own adventure by picking and choosing an experience, sentence by sentence.

About the Duty of Care

Coming soon

Non-Humans of Liverpool Game

Learning Non-Human gave Jack Tan, collaborators, and FACT the opportunity to talk about intergenerational climate justice and how future human and non-human people will be affected by our current actions. It was an opportunity to enter into a learning process: a way to learn how to learn about non-humans.

Find out more about the game and how to play or follow our gameplay from start to finish with video tutorials from the creators and a recording of our All Folk Assembly!

About the Game and How to Play

Read about the Non-Humans of Liverpool game and learn how to play. Created by artist Jack Tan in collaboration with FACT's Digital Ambassadors (Anna Reid, Corinne Jones and Dot Jackman) young people from Liverpool (Evan Bray, Tia Hume-Jennings and Tom Oak) and FACT's Learning Team, the game is a digital tool that explores how we as humans learn about non-human perspectives and laws.

Watch Video Tutorials on How to Play

From selecting your folk to the jury's decision, watch the game's creators give you the rundown on how to play.

Watch an All Folk Assembly from a Citywide Tournament

The creators of Non-Humans of Liverpool gather for the All Folk Assembly to present their most convincing incident report. The panel of judges that will deliberate and declare the winner include Dr Nicola Triscott, Director/CEO (FACT), Emlyn Williams, Trustee (FACT) and Lucía Arias, Learning Manager (FACT).

Read the Transcript of an All Folk Assemby

A mysterious water source, an ant, a tree, a rat and a dead pigeon gather at an All Folk Assembly to present their crimes against non-humans. Who will win and take home the prize? Read the transcript and find out the verdict made by judges Jack Tan, Artist, Lucy Antal, Project Coordinator (North West Food), James Hammond, Head of Operations (FACT) and Rosalind Stockhill, Head of Development (FACT).

Play the game

Are you ready to play? Step into the shoes, paws, feet, claws and fins of a non-human folk. Choose a location (a town, a building or an area) and imagine it through the eyes of a bird, mammal, fish, plant, insect or natural feature. If they had a voice, what would they say?

Making Non-Humans of Liverpool

Find out more about how the game was created including how we connected to collaborators online through artist-led workshops and how the design was informed by non-human perspectives.

Our twelve week plan

Non-Humans of Liverpool was created over twelve weeks and split into three key phases: learning to notice the non-human world, making the game structure (alpha testing) and a town hall presentation (beta testing). Read through these key stages and how the game was created in less than 3 months

Sample Session Plan: Using Experts

In phase one we needed to learn how to notice the non-human world. Take a look at how we did this through conversation, role-playing and sharing knowledge.

Sample Session Plan: Testing the Game on a Politician

In the second phase of creating the game, the players met with the Cabinet Member for Environment & Sustainability in Liverpool to present their incident markers in less than 60 seconds. Both the markers and the impact of having a decision maker present were evaluated. Look at how we structured this session to pave the way for future policy change.

Participants learned to think about non-human experiences and issues by scripting conversations on shared documents and acting out conversations between different plants, insects, mammals, birds, and natural features on Zoom.

Watch Sessions

Over the 12 weeks we made a mini documentary series that followed the progress of the project. Watch the episodes online as the creators build the game through online workshops and tournaments

Foreign Species Report

Read a document provided by the Ministry of Foreign Species Affairs

Learning Non-Human Jack Tan Darius Design Non Humans of LIverpool

Behind the Design of the Game

From the choice of colours to how the graphics are animated, the game's designer, Darius Ou, illustrates how Non-Humans of Liverpool takes on non-human centred design.

Create your own tournament

Find everything you need to create your own tournament and play Non-Humans of Liverpool here. If you're a teacher or educator looking to make an environmental change, take a look through the resources and photos below to start your game planning. If you are a member of an organisation and want to play the game with your team, please contact our Learning Team. Good luck!

Catgirl Non Humans of Liverpool Jack Tan Learning Non-Human

Activities for Young People

Cowwoman Non Humans of Liverpool Jack Tan Learning Non-Human

Checklist to play the game with your organisation

Plan a session

How to Plan your All Folk Assembly

Look out for this badge on our website. It will appear when we are presenting our work and interest in the environment, the climate crisis and our relationship to the more-than-human world.

Non-Humans of Liverpool, and the wider project Learning Non-Human, was commissioned by FACT as part of Young at Art, a partnership between FACT, Open Eye Gallery and National Museums Liverpool and funded by Arts Council England's Celebrating Age programme and The Baring Foundation with support from Medicash Foundation.