This is a series of 12 hosted writing workshops that will run every Tuesday from July 16 until the end of September, between 7 to 9pm

The theme of the workshops is centred around the title – Hatred is a Bitter Fruit – we will be dealing with hate crimes, shame and abuse, and how we deal with those experiences and feelings. 

The classes are open to all LGBTQIA+ communities especially those of colour. Creative writing is a form of self-expression, and within a supportive and safe environment has the potential to begin a process of healing, and is an opportunity to be heard through a selection of words on a page. It is somewhat playful, experimental and at times can be surprising with what emerges from deep within.

Your host will be Jacqueline Ennis-Cole, artist, writer, curator and poet. She received a Poem Brut Commission Award in 2019 and was a beneficiary of the Arts Council England’s Developing Your Creative Practice Award in 2021 and was long-listed for This Is Gender 2021 – Global Health 50/50 and was a MEAD Fellowship Award finalist in 2018. She was nominated as Photo Selector for the fLIP Magazine no.56: Global Warming Winter issue 2023, where she also wrote her debut review of the 2023 Barbican exhibition Re/Sisters. She presented a paper at Nottingham Contemporary gallery’s Language Matters Symposium 2023. She is a recipient of the Spread the Word Writing Commission Award for disabled writers in 2023. She is a regular contributor to the WORMS arts magazine writing on transnational social and environmental justice matters.There will also be three co-hosts who will facilitate three workshops each, the last three weeks will be a consolidation of the outcomes.

 The first co-host will be Venus – a martial artist, writer and performer from Harlesden. A sex worker for many years, her work is a reflection of her experiences with unconventional notions of power, strength, sensuality, subversion and the concept of embodiment as knowledge. She is a recent graduate with a BA in Politics, Philosophy and History, and is founder of Sex and Rage, a sex worker led organisation resisting stigma and shame through sex education.

This series of free association writing workshops will run every Tuesday from July 16 until the end of September, 7 to 9pm

The workshops are FREE but have a limited number of tickets (10 people per class).

For attendees who have travel expenses, there will be a travel reimbursement of up to £10 per class.

Pen and papers will be supplied or bring your favourite pen to write with.

These workshops are supported by Arts Council England.

Ticket link