About
Words on a page are incomplete. The poem, the novel or the non-fiction pamphlet are finished when they are taken up and engaged with. Connection is collaborative. For words to have meaning, they have to be read. — Kae Tempest, On Connection
What are the things that bind us together? How can we strengthen societal vulnerability, intimacy, connection?
Resonating with spoken word poet Kae Tempest’s suggestion that ‘connection is collaborative’, this workshop will encourage participants to come together and explore ways of combating alienation through embodied creativity in the form of collective reading, writing and making.
As per Maria Taomboukou: ‘existence is not an individual affair’. We write with and around each other, and our ideas take shape in one another’s presence. We get carried away by the way other people move – the textures and shapes and words and ideas, all the ways they resemble or differ from our own ways of being. In the words of adrienne maree brown, “the relationships (personal and political) that last the longest have a solid foundation of aligned longings that can handle the tensions of difference and change.” In this creative endeavour, we will come together to reconcile difference and to locate the alignment of our longings.
What to expect
A few days before the event, participants will receive an information pack with some resources as guidance on what written piece they will decide to bring.
Participants are invited to engage with the resources as much or as little as they want to, and any form of writing is accepted as long as it is their own creative property and has a maximum word count of 700 words.
In the workshop, we will begin with a peer-led group discussion of each other’s writing. There are two types of tickets: READING and LISTENING.
Reading tickets are for people who want to bring their work for feedback. Listening tickets are for those who do not want to bring their work but want to join the group and provide feedback. Both readers and listeners are encouraged to give feedback during the sessions. We will go over each person’s piece, allowing 10 minutes for fellow participants to give feedback on how it makes them feel, alongside improvement suggestions.
Following a quick lunch break, we will reconvene to reflect on the exchanged feedback and begin crafting. Each participant will be given a fabric square upon which they can express their thoughts through writing, drawing, and collaging. If you do not have much experience working with fabric, do not worry – you will be guided. We will also give the option to make your piece with pen and paper instead.
After the workshop, all the squares will be stitched together to form a collective art piece which will be exhibited at It All Starts With a Thread, running between 18 August – 31 December at Whitechapel Gallery.
Information
☆ The workshop is free but spaces are limited. Please make sure that you can stay for the whole session, as the work we create during the workshop will be exhibited. If you have booked but can no longer make it, please let us know as soon as you can.
☆ All materials and lunch included.
☆ Location: Creative Studio at Whitechapel Gallery. Space is on the third floor and fully accessible via lift. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch at gutfeelinggg@gmail.com if you would like further access information.
About
`This workshop is created as a collaboration between GUT FEELING, a writing feedback group facilitated by Bella Aleksandrova and Ella Monnerat, and this year’s cohort of the MA Curating Art and Public Programmes (Whitechapel Gallery/LSBU), as part of their final exhibition, It All Starts With a Thread, which focuses on thread as a symbol for connection, community and healing.
