Important update:

It's come to my attention that the artist Tejal Shah exhibiting at this gallery had violated the guidelines involving the treatment of the bodies of the trans participants in Shah's previous work.

There's some more information on Worm's Instagram stories @worm.art.ecology - concisely, a few years ago Shah had used very sensitive photographs of trans women without permission, compensation and abused the power they held with the participants in their art. It is violent and absolutely not ok.

I did not know this upon my invitation to do this event and am horrified. I am cancelling this event, to make clear I do not support this artist's work and that my solidarity stands with the trans community.

To those who have RSPV'ed to the gallery (I don't have access to contact you) I hope to hold this workshop elsewhere. x

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Worming Up! is a workshop for queer, trans, non-binary womxn and people of colour, who are creative practitioners interested in discussing and learning about the environ(mental) challenges we face in the broader context of art practice. Taking effective action points we use to confront ecological issues, how do they relate to the attitudes we have towards sustaining and queering creative practices under patriarchal, heteronormative white supremacy?

Worm believes that sometimes saying ‘No!’ to a negative situation is a positive action. With informal workshop activities situated in the concepts of Worm’s 2018 project Refuse:(v)(n)(-), this session will encourage individuals to relate their practices and routines with these ways of rejecting, resisting and reconnecting. Since the first iteration of Worming Up!, there have been vital changes in Worm’s manifesto to centre a decolonial and queer voice.

We will explore how we can recognise our mental health alongside the toxicity in our systems of artistic production and environmental challenges. Together, we will suggest how to develop resilience and empowerment towards alternative ideas of ‘sustainable creative practices’. Ultimately, Worming Up! hopes to gather like-minded people to make our own safe and powerful spaces to flourish as individuals and ensembles in solidarity.

The workshop will be held at Mimosa House on Wednesday 18th July as part of the public programme for Tejal Shah's exhibition "AS IT IS"

Exhibition press release: "Tejal Shah will present a selection of new works on paper alongside their 5-channel video installation Between the Waves (2012). Informed by queer, feminist and Buddhist thought, Shah explores the interdependence of all life and the importance of care in times of ethical and ecological precarity."

Please RSVP to info@mimosahouse.co.uk to participate for free <3
Mimosa House: 12 Princes Street London W1B 2LL
Facebook event page


Image: Alex Walker