2020 Workshops
Calling All Brown Girls:
Introducing Our Summer Online Creative Storytelling Workshop!
Do you identify as a South Asian womxn? Have you ever felt curious, nervous or scared to experiment with creative personal storytelling? If you replied ‘yes’ to any of these questions, this is the perfect opportunity for you!
Details
When: July & August 2020 (weekly sessions, dates TBA)
Where: From the comfort of your own home!
Application Deadline: June 21st at 11:59 PM
Applications Are Now Closed
Check back soon for more offerings.
In the meantime, check out the gallery from our summer 2020 program.
This 8-week workshop will be a space for creative storytelling and community healing among diverse South Asian identifying womxn. Rooted in anti-oppressive practice, it is designed to be a creative exploration of ‘brown girl’ identity and includes creative personal monologue writing, sharing and performing! The workshop will end during the last week of August 2020 with a live online showcase, where participants will be able to share their stories with others.
This unique program is facilitated by Shades of Brown Girl’s founder and creator – multidisciplinary educator, critical feminist researcher, and equity & inclusion strategist Amrita Kumar-Ratta and will also feature special guest artists and facilitators throughout!
There will also be a special showing of ‘Shades of Brown Girl’, an original solo performance piece created by Amrita in 2017.
Creative storytelling and/or performance experience is not necessary. While limited spots are available, this workshop is for anyone and everyone!
What Participants Can Expect
Over the course of 8 weeks, we will engage in creative, interactive, reflective, and fun exercises to encourage personal monologue development. Our unique pedagogy is rooted in principles of anti-racism and anti-oppression in effort to create a brave online space and to facilitate courageous conversations among diverse brown womxn located across Ontario and Canada. It is also informed by colour psychology – where associations with colour are used throughout the program to turn intimate details of being brown-skinned in Canada into powerful messages of healing and inspiration.
The workshop will culminate in a digital showcase, which will take place live and online during the last week of August 2020.
Specific questions that will be explored throughout this workshop include:
- What does being a brown girl mean to you?
- What is your story?
- What does ‘home’ and ‘identity’ mean to you?
- What shade(s) of brown are you and what colour(s) represent your ‘brown girl’ experience?
Some themes that will be creatively unpacked throughout the program include (but are not limited to):
- race and gender identity
- sex and sexuality
- intergenerational trauma
- familial expectations
- colourism, casteism, anti-Blackness
- body positivity
- mental health
Does this sound like something you are interested in? Apply Now!
Do you have questions? Check out the FAQ!
Do you still want more information? Contact us!
Past Workshop Highlights & Testimonials
Apply
This workshop is open to any and all brown womxn. If you meet the eligibility criteria listed below, we would love to hear from you!
Apply by June 21st at 11:59 PM.
Eligibility
– 16-35 years of age
– Self-identified South Asian womxn*
– Located in Ontario or elsewhere in Canada**
– Interested in or curious about creative personal storytelling
– Available to attend weekly online sessions in July and August 2020
*We define South Asian as anyone self-identifying with the geographical region (past or present) of South Asia (currently comprised of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bhutan, the Maldives) and its many historical and contemporary diasporas. This includes Tamil, Indo-Caribbean, Indo-African diasporas, descendants of Indian migrants to Southeast Asia, mixed race individuals, and anyone else whose ethnic origins are in the region characterized as ‘South Asia’.
We define womxn as anyone identifying with the female sex and/or gender.
**As this project is being funded by the Ontario Arts Council, the majority of spots are reserved for Ontario residents. At this time we have limited spots available for those who are located outside of Ontario and/or Canada.
The deadline to submit applications is July 21 at 11:59 PM.
Applications Are Now Closed
Check back soon for more offerings.
In the meantime, check out the gallery from our summer 2020 program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Workshop sessions will take place weekly, starting the second week of July up until the final week of August. The final session of the program, after the showcase, will take place during the first week of September. Exact dates will be released soon. While we understand that sessions are taking place over the summer months, we do require a commitment from all participants to be available for all sessions.
While the creation of personal monologues will be the focus of this program, and we do look forward to each participant creating and performing their own personal monologue, there is absolutely no reason why participants cannot use the tools we will be offering in order to explore their creativity even further and to experiment with other mediums to tell their story. While there will be certain parameters set out at the beginning of the program, we are open to you sharing your story in the way that feels most authentic for you.
As this is a voluntary program, there will never be any requirement that you must share your story in its entirety with workshop participants and/or with a live audience. However, it is important to note that a primary aim of this program is to work with participants to take some risks, to lean into discomfort, and to share their creative personal stories where possible. We will work with participants to ensure that the process is as safe and supportive as possible.
We are working to ensure that online workshop sessions are as accessible as possible! If you have particular accessibility needs, please do not hesitate to reach out to us and we will work together to ensure you can participate if you are selected!
Yes! If you have already participated in a workshop, you can of course participate again! Please note that some of the material will be the same if not similar to what will be included in this program. Please apply again bearing this in mind.
If you would like more incentive to apply again, there will be some extra special learning and performance opportunities in this workshop program that were not available earlier! Connect with us if you would like more information!
Weekly sessions will be up to three hours in length. In each session, participants will be given exercises and activities that are to be done prior to the next session. Please plan to spend approximately 5-6 hours per week on this program. We promise that every hour will be worth it!
We understand that there will be some difficult conversations coming out of these sessions. Our aim is not to increase any kind of vulnerability, but to provide safe space in which brown womxn can explore parts of themselves which have been silenced.
If at any point you feel unsure about or uncomfortable writing or presenting your story, we will make sure to provide you with the appropriate resources.
If there is a specific issue you would like to discuss with us prior to applying for this program, please connect with us and we will see how best we can help.
Contact
Get Involved
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