Come make a self-portrait in a gentle, playful and community-centred creative workshop focused on connection, reflection and making things together.
This is a workshop for the girls, the gays and the theys — and anyone else who may feel intimidated by creativity, art-making or the pressure to make something “good”. At Two Kats Studios, we believe creativity and play are for everyone, and that making things together can help us reconnect with ourselves, reflect on how we want to be seen, and build community.
You’ll be guided through a short meditation to help you reflect on who you are, how you want to show up in the world, and what you want your portrait to hold. From there, you’ll choose a few words to inform your self-portrait, before taking part in a collaborative image-gathering exercise with two other people in the room.
The idea is to gently diffuse the pressure of creating something conventionally aesthetically pleasing. Instead of carrying the full weight of making a “perfect” artwork on your own, you’ll be invited into a shared creative process where the focus is on reflection, connection and play.
Your self-portrait can be anything you want it to be. It might look like a face, or it might be a reflection of your internal universe, or something you don’t quite have words for yet.
You’ll create your portrait using existing imagery from magazines, printed materials, paper, and decorative supplies. At the end, there will be space to reflect on the process, the collaboration, and any connections or insights that came up while making.
No previous art experience is needed, and all materials will be provided.
You’ll leave with your own self-portrait collage, a reflective creative experience, and hopefully a few new local connections too.
2 Cats Studios is running a series of minimally priced workshops to gather information for further community-building activities. You are getting this experience at the cost of the materials used only, in exchange for your thoughts, so please respond to the questions in this registration, as well as the post-event survey immediately after and one month after the workshop.
Cover images curtesy of the ExeCollective London 2016