ABSTRACT
This chapter engages the connective energy of the encounter through addressing the sociality that occurred during an art event called First Thursdays. It presents advance ideas around the geography-aesthetics relationship, offering a concept of aesthetic form constructed from a particular geography of encounter that exists outside of art practice. Drawing on the work of sociologist Michel Maffesoli, the chapter will argues that instances of sociality have an ethical aesthetic form. It investigates the role of space, tactility and the non-human in the emergence of sociality during First Thursdays, subsequently linking this to the discussion of the ethical aesthetic form of being-together. Georg Simmel saw distinct similarities between social and aesthetic forms. Michel Maffesoli extends this understanding of sociality and aesthetics, connecting it to a form of ethics. The chapter suggests how this evidences a sense of comfort in being around others and how this concept can speak to both current human geography researches on encounter and ideas of relational aesthetics.
