A participatory writing workshop exploring hair, memory, identity and belonging.
ESEA Hair Archive presents a participatory writing workshop exploring the stories, memories and meanings that can live in our hair.
Hair can carry stories of family, migration, beauty, gender, language, culture and belonging. It can connect us to particular people and places, family histories and childhood memories, while also reflecting the expectations placed on our bodies and identities.
The workshop will use writing prompts, memories, conversation and creative reflection to explore participants’ own relationships with hair.
The session is particularly intended for people from ESEA communities who are interested in exploring their own experiences of hair, identity, culture and belonging. Different experiences, perspectives and ways of participating are welcomed. Sharing personal experiences is optional.
The three-hour session will include:
Hair & Language — exploring hair-related words, sayings, slang and expressions in participants' own languages and cultures.
Hair Stories — using a personal hair-related anecdote as a starting point for writing and conversation.
Mapping a Hair Journey — creating a personal map/collage of hair through photographs, memories, places, people, words and significant moments.
Each activity will include time for individual writing and optional sharing.
No previous writing experience is required. Participants do not need to consider themselves writers, and there is no expectation to produce a polished piece of writing.
If you would like to include personal photographs of your hair in the workshop, please email up to 3 images to luminal.space.collective@gmail.com at least 2 days before the workshop. These images may be used as prompts for writing and discussion during the session.
Participants will also have the option to contribute writing or reflections to the developing ESEA Hair Archive, a participatory oral-history and creative archive documenting experiences of hair, identity and belonging among ESEA communities.
A break with special homemade Chinese treat will take place midway through the session.
Please let us know about any dietary requirements or allergies when booking.
Sunday 15 November 2026
2–5pm
ESEA Community Centre
12–14 Englefield Road
London N1 4LS
The venue is wheelchair accessible and has an accessible toilet. The nearest stations are Dalston Junction and Dalston Kingsland.
ESEA Hair Archive × ESEA Community Centre
ESEA Hair Archive is a participatory oral-history and creative archive exploring hair, identity, migration, gender and belonging among ESEA communities.
East and South East Asian Community Centre (ESEACC) is a charity dedicated to serving the ESEA community by providing a physical space that acts as a local hub for support with essential services, as well as access to social, wellbeing, and community activities.
Artist
The workshop is led by Lu Zhao, a multimedia and participatory artist and founder of Luminal Space Creative, a creative collective centering women & queer communities and exploring the unidentified experiences through inclusive art & stories.