Storytellers is a four part workshop series in Regent Park for young Muslim women. It will focus on the writing of poetry as a form of artistic expression, craft and healing. In our weekly gatherings we will use our pens and voices to explore the theme of “self-love” with the intent of publishing work(s) in the Homebound Young Muslim Women Poetry Anthology 2014. We strive to make this is a safer space for everyone to locate their creative voice and be heard. This group will be a place to honour our experiences and hear our peers’ truths.
Who: The workshops are open to anyone (16 – 29) who self-identifies as a Muslim woman through the spectrum of familial, spiritual, political, cultural, ancestral connections.
Location: Workshops will take place at Daniel Spectrum 585 Dundas Street East, 3rd floor, 1:00 – 4:00
Workshop Dates include:
- Nov 2nd
- Nov 9th
- Nov 16th
- Nov 23rd
- February 2014 Writers Retreat Poetry Retreat
Participants have access to:
- TTC tokens
- Childcare (upon 48 request)
- Language Interpreters (including ASL) available
- Opportunity to be published
- Mentorship from establish Muslim women poets & writers
Pre-registration is required please contact us to register 416-323-9149 ext 268 or
Storytellers ~ Poetry Workshops for Young Muslim Women in Regent Park is one of four workshop series happening across the city for young Muslim women with project partners Outburst! SpeakSudan, Gashanti Unity, Youth Renaissance and Shine.
About the Arts Educator: Nehal is a writer, social researcher and cultural producer living. Born in Khartoum, Sudan, Nehal has lived in the United Kingdom, the Sultanate of Oman and Canada. Her poetry can be found most recently in “The Great Black North: Contemporary African Canadian Poetry” and the forthcoming “Min Fami: Arab Feminist Reflections on Identity, Space and Resistance”.
Funding for Storytellers: Poetry Workshops for Young Muslim Women is provided by ArtReach Toronto, Canadian Women’s Foundation, Trillium Foundation, Laidlaw Foundation
Outburst! Young Muslim Women Project is a movement of young Muslim women in Toronto who are breaking silence and speaking out about violence. As young Muslim women we want to determine the ways in which we define and access safety. Outburst!, a program of the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic, is an opportunity for us to build community through art, education and research. Tumblr: http://outburstm.tumblr.com/
SpeakSudan is a collective of young East African individuals in Southwestern Ontario who operate primarily in the GTA. Our objective is to promote the creative expression of East African youth in the diaspora. Our efforts are arts based and focus on capacity building and skill sharing. We work from anti oppressive, gender aware, accessibly, anti-colonial, queer positive framework. We seek to explore and dissect the many facets which make up our identities and to confront the challenges we face in relation to displacement and migration; gender and family; religion and culture, status and sexuality; war and violence; as well as race and ethnicity. We create safe spaces to promote personal and community growth. This space is both physical and emotional to explore the connections with the places and cultures we identify with. This space is a counter narrative to discourse surrounding East Africa generated by those outside our community. We hope to allow space for multiple voices and dissenting opinions. http://speaksudan.org/