Artists Working Through Crisis

Less a course and more a series of group therapy sessions, ‘Artists Working Through Crisis’ builds on Tashkeel’s equity as a site of support and exchange. By articulating personal and collective “central questions,” participants will identify, confront and discuss barriers to working through absence and distancing (e.g. audience interaction, peer support, productivity, inspiration, self-doubt).

Artists Working Through Crisis intends to spark frank and liberating conversations in a safe space, focusing on inputs and lived experiences rather than pressuring towards outputs and elusive productivity. Selected readings will signpost new ways of thinking about confronting (and potentially overcoming) current blockages.

The first four of the total twelve sessions are devoted to understanding current barriers, sharing frustrations and exploring the changing artistic stakes caused by COVID dynamics. The next cluster of sessions leads participants to reflect on the drivers of their practice and question how/if these have changed. We will explore writing as a therapeutic tool to re-immerse themselves in their practices and/or work through blockages. The final sessions move participants towards formulating new ways of positioning and representing their practices.

Course description:

Sessions 1-4: Assessing (the Situation)

The early sessions are devoted to understanding current barriers, sharing frustrations and exploring the changing artistic stakes caused by COVID dynamics.

Sessions 5-8: Reflecting (on Alternatives)

This next cluster of sessions leads participants to reflect on the drivers of their practice and question how/if these have changed. We will explore writing as a tool to re-emerge themselves in their practices.

Sessions 9-12: Articulating (New Directions)

The final third of the course moves participants in the direction of formulating new ways of positioning and representing their practices.