2024 STORYTELLING WORKSHOPS
Filipina-American cartoonist and educator Lynda Barry once wrote, “We know that athletes, musicians, and actors all have to practice, rehearse, repeat things until it gets into the body, the ‘muscle memory.’ But for some reason, writers and visual artists think they have to be inspired before they make something – not suspecting the physical act of writing or drawing is what brings that inspiration about.”
Maybe you’re new to this world of creativity, or maybe you’ve always been writing or creating art and are simply in need of a new environment or a little nudge to push you deeper into your creative practice. Whatever the case might be, we hope you’ll share that physical act of creating with us at Living Hyphen.
Our workshops for the winter 2024 season are a mix of in-person and virtual offerings.
CLICK TO LEARN MORE ABOUT EACH WORKSHOP OR SCROLL FOR OUR CALENDAR at a glance
HOLDING GRIEF & GRATITUDE WITH ISSUES MAGAZINE SHOP | APRIL 24 | IN-PERSON TORONTO
WRITING THE REVOLUTION WITH Of Sorts® | APRIL 30 | IN-PERSON TORONTO
RITUALIZING RESISTANCE | MAY 13 | IN-PERSON VANCOUVER
MIGRATIONS & MELANCHOLIA | MAY 15 | IN-PERSON VANCOUVER
CALENDAR AT A GLANCE
"Radiant. Grounding. Comforting. You are always left with confidence as an emerging writer, while feeling held & seen by the shared stories that comfort one another." – Elvin Velasco
"Radiant. Grounding. Comforting. You are always left with confidence as an emerging writer, while feeling held & seen by the shared stories that comfort one another." – Elvin Velasco
“Living Hyphen’s writing workshop was a gift. Being in a room with others who felt the same experiences and struggles as me, but yet were so diverse, made me feel less anxious to write freely and share my work. I felt so heard and welcomed. It was encouraging to see different age ranges, voices and writing styles in the room.”
about financial accessibility
At Living Hyphen, we strive to make all our initiatives financially sustainable while also maintaining artistic independence and ensuring accessibility for our community. Our creative workshops will always have a few subsidized pricing options for those experiencing financial hardship.
We are able to offer these subsidized experiences thanks to the generosity of our community supporters. If you would like to make a donation to offer a fully subsidized experience for a participant, please get in touch!
OUR APPROACH
Our creative storytelling workshops are the most radical thing we do at Living Hyphen. Radical – though it shouldn’t be – because of the voices that we prioritize, but even more radical because of our approach and pedagogy.
We take a decolonial, intersectional, and anti-oppressive approach to all of our workshops. We let go of perfection and embrace our messy pages. We focus on the nourishing and healing process of writing instead of the product. And we embrace writing as an embodied practice that brings together mind and body making for a healing and joyful journey.
“Living Hyphen’s writing workshop allowed me to be vulnerable in a space filled with empathy and compassion. Being very new to writing, it is scary to share something so personal with a group of strangers. But as you go through the process and listen to the stories of others, you’re hearing similarities, shared histories, common fears and wishes for the future. The session was well-paced, allowing you time to reflect on the writing prompts and the stories of other participants. The encouragement participants give to each other motivates me to keep writing and improve the ways in which my writing engages others, looking for those universal points of engagement that we all share though we come from different places and backgrounds. ”
want to organize a private workshop for your community?
We’ve been very fortunate to work with a number of different community-based organizations and institutions to deliver our writing workshops across Turtle Island. If you’d like to work together to develop programming for your community, let’s talk!