Full event details here: https://sadehfarm.co.uk/lady-cynthias-lover
This weekend of workshops, performance, exhibition and ritual is aimed at anyone with a Jewish identity or experience, anyone who impacts on the lives of Jewish people, and anyone committed to expanding (their) Jewish knowledge.
This weekend is aimed at anyone with an LGBT+/queer identity and all those committed to challenging queer/transphobia, sexism and to those resisting/re-establishing the gender binary.
We hope all who join will commit to learning, reflecting and unlearning and to challenging racism, ableism and all forms of oppression.
No previous knowledge or artistic experience required. You may be encouraged but will not be required to share work during the weekend.
The price of the retreat is £50 (heavily subsidised by Moishe House) and includes all workshops, accommodation and Kosher vegetarian/ vegan meals. We have a small number of further subsidies for those who may otherwise be prohibited from attending.
General activities will largely be conducted on the ground floor which is wheelchair accessible. Wheelchair accessible bedrooms and bathrooms are available. Sadeh currently does not have hearing loops. We will endeavour to support all who wish to attend. Contact talia.chain(at)sadehfarm.co.uk for further queries or to enquire about our subsidised places.
Places are limited and first come-first serve so watch this space for details and updates. Tickets will be released ASAP
Arrive between 5-7pm on June 14th.
The weekend will include Shabbes and Havdalah spiritual rituals which will be explicitly trans and non-binary inclusive in their lack of gender-assigned rituals. We hope to allow everyone to engage in all rituals together or choose what feels most nourishing.
On Saturday night, there will be a chance to share and exhibit work, whether visual art, ritual, performance or something else. Feel free to bring anything with you or share what you’ve made during the retreat.
Workshops are listed here. Please select one of the following for all-day Saturday when registering. Places are limited and first come first serve. All three of these artists will also be running short sessions during the weekend for everyone to enjoy.
Closing Circle 3pm Sunday June 16th.
Saturday All-Day Workshops:
Breaking Stories, Remaking Stories: Midrashic Ritual Theatre Craft
We carry in our bodies the stories of those ancestors, layer upon layer of mythic imagination molding us into who we are. But what happens when we look back to our stories and see an absence of ourselves?Join Tzova (Hebrew Priestess Initiate) Yael Esther from Yelala for an exploration of how we break apart and remake our old stories, using a combination of writing, storytelling, bibliodrama and ritual-making.
Theatre-maker and cabaret producer Dex Chait Grodner will be introducing a rich history of Jewish and queer contributions to the performing art including theatre, drag, music hall, Live Art, spoken word and clowning. We will tap into Jewish sentimentality and humour (the kvell and the kvetch) and the unique history of gender relations in Jewish cultural text. Finally, a workshop that wants to hear you complain that your feet hurt!! Bring your broigeses (complaints) and your revolutionary spirit.
From Rags to Riches! The encrustable world of embellishing and customisation!
Mark Mindel will be leading a practical workshop, hoping to offer participants the chance to engage in experimental arts and crafts, developing jewelry, fabricating costumes and up-cycling everyday objects. Mark began using these techniques as a way of paying homage to materials, and found that, through the process of stylization, they were able to celebrate aspects of themselves too. Bringing their unique use of foraged and organic materials to the Shabbat Table, expect to handle unconventional items, such as beans and stones, as Mark shows you how to harness techniques of guerrilla decoration in pursuit of mindful connection and radical self care, creating a space in which to experience the therapeutic and cathartic power of art. Expect to develop wonderful textures in creative activities which will also allow one to play with design, colour, story-telling and fantasy, as we collectively encrust, expressing our queer/jewish/other identities along the way."
Additional Sunday Session:
Beginners DJ Workshop W/ TamTam for all women, trans men and non-binary people.
Learn the art DJing. The aim is that you come away with DJ skills you can put into practice straight away
Yael Tischler is a Tzova (Kohenet/Hebrew Priestess Initiate), ritual-weaver, Jewish educator and song leader. She is the co-founder of Yelala, an organisation that brings Earth-based intersectional feminist Jewish spirituality to the UK. She is passionate about the power of myth to heal and transform individuals, communities and the world. Her work is the making, breaking and remaking of stories into immersive ritual experiences for the sake of personal and political liberation. She holds a BA in Tanakh (Bible) from the Jewish Theological Seminary. She has facilitated ritual, devotion and educational workshops at the Open Talmud Project, the Sadeh Jewish Farm and various Jewish communities throughout London. She will receive full ordination as a Kohenet (Hebrew Priestess) in August 2019.
Dex Grodner is a genderqueer, Jewish performance artist, educator and theatre-maker. They are the host of cabaret night, Homos and Houmous and writer/artist of the solo show, “Chanukah Lewinksy,: 120 Years from Grodno, combining drag and Yiddish Theatre. They are a dancer who has toured nationally with dragpunk spectacle, “Non-Binary Electro Hour”.
Dex has performed at Tate Britain, Limmud, Theatre Royal Wakefield and Royal Vauxhall Tavern. They have run workshops on gender and theatre practice at Hackney Showrooms and RADA.
Mark Mindel is an Artist that uses their work to talk about broad topics, such as queerness, the urban landscape, Jewishness, globalization and ecological issues. Using a range of working styles, from prop and costume making to painting, Mark mines their own lived experience for content, inspired by the history of religious and folk art. The Artist is particularly interested in clothes and other objects which have pre-existing functions, often heavily decorating and embellishing the surface of objects to defamiliarise the familiar, turning religious clothing into masks, or tracksuits into armour. In doing so, the artist explores the queer potential of everyday objects, and their ability to provide moments for storytelling, escape and self-discovery.
Tami (DJ TamTam) helps empower and enhance the talent of those not fully represented in the electronic music scene. A frustration with cis* dominated parties motivated Tami to seek spaces that promotes diversity, inclusiveness and unity. Finding such spaces proved challenging, so they became a DJ (with a purpose). In Leeds, they work for a community DJ school. They also run DJ workshops for cis women, trans and non-binary people which aims to develop technical skills and most importantly build their confidence to perform. Watch out for Tami’s “Introduction to DJing Workshop at Lady Cynthia's Lover.
Promo Art designed by Sadeh’s Artist in Residence, Jessica Knight.