JOY PERSISTS

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM

The joy persists Community Engagement Program features a series of free or low-cost workshops and artist talks that explore meaning-making, cultural systems and storytelling.

Ekphrasis: Myth Making with Images Workshop

Deep dive into creative processes.

There is no right or wrong way. Take a deeper look at how you access and free your creative self in this intensive play/creative writing workshop with Mararo Wangai (WA).

Mararo Wangai, a Kenyan-born writer, performer and media graduate has an interest in diverse forms of storytelling. In his work, Mararo is attracted to narratives that explore the struggles of humanity and pushes both writing and the audience out of their comfort zone where we can all learn deeper lessons for the future.

11am-2pm Sun 18   $15+bf

Embodied Practices: Tending to the Roots

Reconnect with bodily wisdom.

Belonging, connectivity and how we make sense of the world ruptures and fractures across a lifetime. Embodiment invites us to reconnect with the body’s wisdom and generate a sense of safety so we can be fully present in the web of relation that includes ourselves, others, the environment, the societies we reside in, and the times we are flowing through. This workshop is an invitation to explore varying embodied practices including conversation, storytelling, visualisation, breathwork and movement. It is through these practices that we may cultivate a sense of belonging within and with those in our shared space.

What you’ll need for this workshop: a Yoga mat, journal, pen.

Makanaka Tuwe (Aotearoa) is a researcher, storyteller and cultural producer whose practice flows at the intersections of embodied care, collective wellness and social justice. Her work explores the themes of liberation, worldbuilding and relational health.

6.30-8.30pm Tue 20   $15+bf

Dreaming up Digital Ecologies of Justice

Artificial intelligence and the digital divide.

What role can joy play in mobilising populations across digital platforms? How do we reduce the noise of an algorithm-driven existence?

Join Emele Ugavule (Aotearoa) for a workshop that addresses artificial intelligence, story sovereignty and the digital divide to dream up ecologies of justice. Emele Ugavule is a Tokelauan Fijian storyteller. Her research and practice are in Oceanic Indigenous-led storytelling.

4-6pm Sun 18   $15+bf