PSA - Until further notice, as a result of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak, we have decided that Misery Meets will take place online.
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MISERY MEETS is a monthly healing circle designed to support the mental health of queer and transgender Black people and people of colour. In collaboration with the multi-arts East London venue, Colours Hoxton, this project will provide our community with a cozy, comfortable, cutely-lit place to come, rest, speak, laugh and learn tools for wellness, healing and resilient mental health.
The sessions (happening on the last Tuesday of each month) will be guided by QTIBPOC therapist-in-training, Sabah Choudrey who will facilitate therapeutic conversations around issues relevant to the QTIBPOC community such as addiction, grief, pleasure and sexual health. Each month Sabah will also be joined by an artist, healer and/or community facilitator who will lead the group in a mental health-centered activity such as herbal balm-making for depression, erotic collaging, letter writing to those we have lost or voguing for confidence.
As public services continue to crack and waiting times for urgent mental health services are longer than ever under the weight of 10 years of Conservative Rule, Misery is proud and relieved to be able to offer a little respite for a community that is likely bearing the brunt of these changes.
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25th March 2020
TRANS FEM FUTURES ~ Make Up for Peace of Mind
FACILITATORS ~ Hannah Rose (@foxdyke_) / Bilansu (@bilansu) / Minara El Waters (@minaraelwaters)
In a world that is so against us existing, we need to stick together to brave its ever-crushing current. Join us for a Transfem Health day where we’ll have a healing circle with our resident therapist-in-training @sabah.c followed by snacks and activities. In addition, makeup artists @bilansu and @minaraelwaters will be showcasing the power of makeup to form communication between the self and the outer with simple/loud graphic liner!
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28th April 2020
MAGIC & SPIRITUALITY ~ Ritual and Intention: Honouring the Shadow
FACILITATORS ~ Grace The Witch (@the.community.witch)
In many Euro-American “spiritual” circles, the Shadow is intended as the Jungian definition of the repressed self; the shadow of a casted identity, embodied but not fully aware, formed by limitation, fear and trauma. What happens when the Shadow is the actual everyday life experience of some individuals? What happens when mainstream therapy and spirituality don’t acknowledge the forced trauma of just being a QTIBPOC, in a society that doesn’t even wish for our existence? This ritual and discussion will be rooted in the shared West African understanding of Shadow as an integral part of our life, where mental health is a direct tool of communication between the self, the community & the spirit.
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26th May 2020
SEXUAL HEALTH ~ Erotic Self Mapping 2.0
FACILITATORS ~ Black Fly Zine (@blackflyzine)
This workshop will provide a space for us to playfully explore our imaginations when it comes to thinking about our erotic selves. What do we like, what do we dislike and where we would like to go? Does your erotic self like to slither or fly? Come and find out.
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30th June 2020
GRIEF ~ Reach Out to a Lost One
FACILITATORS ~ John Bellebono (@assignedfailureatbirth)
How do we grieve someone’s death when we find ourselves self-censoring our identity and queerness to appease Western capitalist understandings of what grieving looks like? How do we as QTIPOC deal with death when it’s so ingrained within our community? This workshop is especially for QTIPOC who are grieving due to death or terminal illness. We’ll create a space where we can hold space for each other’s grieving experiences, and have a chance to discuss something which is so rarely addressed, and usually met with discomfort. The second half of the session will feature us writing a letter (or recording a voice note, or making an illustration, or whatever feels right!) to someone we’re grieving. This can be shared with the rest of the group, or be kept to ourselves.
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28th July 2020
PLEASURE ~ Breathe, Speculate, Cum: Breathing Writing Healing for QTIBPOC
FACILITATORS ~ Ama Josephine Budge (@amajosephine)
Building on frameworks of Black feminist pleasure, science fiction, ecological evolutions, and queer tantra training, Breathe, Speculate, Cum incorporates breath, free writing, story-boarding, mark-making and pleasure vocalisations to rest, resist, reimagine and rebuild. The workshop will centre queer, POC and Black gender non-conforming, non-binary, trans and femme people to harness pleasure experienced through their bodies, their erotic energies and their relationships to the earth in order to manifest embodied healing through breath and fuller, more pleasured lives, deeply connecting with the queer ecologies within as well as all around us.
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25th August 2020
BDSM ~ Playing with Boundaries: Consent & Cuddles
FACILITATORS ~ Aisha (@uglyinahotway) / Aaks (@babetheory)
We know that no means no but what does that really mean? How do we assert our boundaries and learn about those of others? What can we do if our boundaries are violated or we violate those of others? Let’s explore together in this healing space centered around discussion and physical exploration of consent, boundaries and platonic touch. Cuddles optional, always.
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29th September 2020
FAMILY ~ Affirmation Coupon Making
FACILITATORS ~ Bernice Mulenga (@burneece)
In this workshop, guided by multi-disciplinary artist, Bernice Mulenga, you will create an affirmation coupon book that you can take home with you. We will share/talk about how to affirm ourselves in our day to day lives, relationships and friendships. It’ll be very cute and very light, touching gently on ideas around family, chosen family, friends and community. We will also explore how to create through manifestation.
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27th October 2020
ADDICTION ~ Medicine for The Soul
FACILITATORS ~ Tallawah Ali (@tallawah_ali)
A restorative session. Exploring how locally harvested plants & those of our ancestral lineages can support our vessels, self-esteem and mental health. In these deeply demanding times, plants can all-ways be called on to help support us & to them we owe thanks. We will be holding space for one another to connect with the infinite through plant portals. Expect lots of herbs, roots, brews, flowers & light plant-based edibles alongside hydrating conversation.
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24th November 2020
CONFIDENCE ~ Finding Confidence Through Movement the Old Way
FACILITATORS ~ Bronze (@bronzebronzebronze) / Felix Dijon (@duanenasis)
This workshop is an introduction to the foundations of the original style of Voguing (Old Way) & the history and culture of Ballroom. We'll be exploring Voguing & Ballroom as a means to reach beyond a limited self and channel an unlimited confidence. Using movement as a practice of healing & growth for the body-mind, this session is especially for beginners & untrained dancers, though open to all levels.