The Art of Place

Some places lift you the moment you enter them, and others leave you flat without your knowing why. The Art of Place, a creative workshop live from Omega Institute Online, looks at that difference. It asks how ordinary rooms, objects, and corners can become extraordinary, and how the spaces you live in can support your creativity and your growth.

The evening is a two-part Omega Teachers Studio led by graphic artist Elena Agostinis and environmental psychologist Toby Israel, PhD. Elena brings a playful, color-filled view of what imagination can do with everyday things. Toby brings Design Psychology, an approach that puts emotional experience at the center of design. MC YOGI is listed with this event as a featured artist.

If you have wondered what your surroundings say about you, or want to bring more joy and intention into your home, this workshop offers both inspiration and practical reflection, wherever you are logging in from.

What to Expect

The workshop runs in two one-hour sessions, live online.

- 5 Houses on the Wild Side: How to Convert Ordinary Into Extraordinary. Elena Agostinis shares a visual journey through unusual installations she has created in her homes over the years. The hour invites you to loosen the rules, trust your instincts, and see your own surroundings with fresh eyes.
- Design Psychology: Transforming Place & Self. Toby Israel shares exercises from her Design Psychology Toolbox. Through exercises and reflection, you explore how the places of your past quietly shape what feels meaningful, comforting, and alive today, and how to bring those insights into your own space.

You leave with a clearer sense of your emotional connection to place and ideas for creating what Toby calls "transcendent, liberating design": spaces that reflect who you are and how you want to live. Registered participants can also watch the class on demand until May 18, 2027.

About MC YOGI

MC YOGI was born in San Francisco, California, and grew up in a diverse cultural landscape that shaped his artistic path. His early years were marked by a passion for graffiti art, which became a creative outlet and a means of self-expression. Hip-hop culture grew into a significant part of his identity, and that environment laid the groundwork for his later work in music and spirituality. Yoga entered his life in his teenage years and gave him a deeper understanding of himself and the world around him.

Elena Agostinis is a graphic artist known for her fearless use of color and her commitment to joy. She grew up in a small South African village, where there was little to inspire a young child and no television until the mid-1970s. There she discovered that imagination could turn the ordinary into both inspiration and entertainment.

Toby Israel, PhD, is an environmental psychologist and the founder of Design Psychology. Her work draws on collaboration with renowned placemakers and centers on how emotional experience shapes the spaces we create.

Venue & Logistics

This workshop takes place online through Omega Institute Online, so you can take part from any space you choose. Both sessions are live, and a recording is available on demand to registered participants until May 18, 2027. Tuition is $35 for members, with a sliding scale from $33 to $55. Have something to take notes with, and consider settling into a room you would like to see differently.