“the invitation to stay with grieving becomes an activism in itself, becomes a sharing of edges and borders and boundaries with what the world is doing… maybe grief is how an ant and a fungus become allies and make art. maybe our bodies are being invited into making new forms of art, new postures”

-Bayo Akomolafe

Join viiiii and Persephone Pearl for Grief~Shapes, a creative space and circle in honour of Remembrance Day for Lost Species. This will be one of the last occasions that Lost Species Day is marked at ONCA, because December 2024 will mark ONCA’s final closure.

Remembrance Day for Lost Species (30 November) – founded in 2011 and supported by ONCA since 2012 – is a chance each year to explore the stories of extinct and critically endangered species, cultures, lifeways, and ecological communities. Whilst emphasising that these losses are rooted in violent and discriminatory governing practices, the day provides an opportunity for participants to make or renew commitments to all who remain.

Book Tickets

Bring offerings for an altar, bring poetry or words to share. Come ready to listen to each other and to make art together, exploring the shapes of grief. We will collaborate to make two things: an altar and a sound sculpture. We will spend time outdoors as well as in the gallery so bring a warm coat. The circle will finish at 4pm with food and tea.

Facilitators:

viiiii (they/them)

Persephone Pearl (they/them)

How to prepare & COVID-19:

• please aim to arrive 5-10 minutes before the event official start time if possible.
• please be mindful of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other viral infections that go around to protect all participants and facilitators who might be immunocompromised, disabled or chronically ill.
• please do not attend the event if you (or people you’ve been in close contact with, or people you live with) experience symptoms of COVID-19 or other viral infection.
• please return the ticket or notify the organisers if you are no longer able to attend as tickets are limited – it is a special event and we would love for as many people as possible to join the experience.
• we thank you for your solidarity with the disabled struggle and the struggle against isolation and separation of all peoples; it is the struggle of our times; access is love.

Think about your grief aftercare:

grief is a beastly force, and does not always want to be neatly put away in a box when you decide you are done with it, so we encourage collectively stepping into the practice of taking extra-attentive and generous care. here are some ideas:

• find a person who can be available to hold space for you on a call or in-person after grief~shapes ritual is done; agree beforehand how you would like a check-in to happen, maybe it’s just a quick chat, maybe you will want to share more, specify if you’d like a specific type of listening.
• plan a space for a nap before and after the ritual, create a container where nobody would disturb you for a while;
• if possible, avoid planning fast and intense things in the following days, give yourself space to compost what came up;
• go slow and gently, protect yourself and your tender spaces;
• plan a nice meal you will have that evening;
• find a playful and warming playlist that will help you come out of grief space;
• if needed, reach out for a chat with facilitators (we will let you know our emails).

What to bring:

1. an item or image that symbolises who or what you are grieving to put on a collective altar.
2. poems, songs, quotes, drawings, photos, sounds, gestures and other items to offer and devote to what we are grieving collectively.
3. phone with audio recording function that can also play that audio back (we will abstain from using our phones for most of the practice, and will use our individual phones to record a sound piece in a designated time)

• warm, comfortable, cosy clothes, and bring layers to adjust.
• pillows, cushions, blankets, throws, yoga mats – and other items that will make sitting* and lying on the floor comfortable for you.
• for those who find sitting on the floor difficult we will have fold-up chairs to sit down.
• refillable water bottle to stay hydrated.

Venue accessibility

• the event will take place in the Main Gallery space in ONCA Gallery at 14 St George’s Pl, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN1 4GB.
• the Main Gallery space is on the ground floor with step-free access and wheelchair-accessible entry. The gallery will host an exhibition at the time of our ritual, but we will do our best to clear out as much space as possible for wheelchair access. The toilet is located up the stairs (5 steps of stairs).
• the nearest wheelchair-accessible disabled toilet is at The Yellow Book bar and North Laine pub. We will inform them about people potentially coming to use the bathroom.
• up the 5 steps of stairs on corridor there is a kitchen and a garden, you can use the garden space to have a sensory time-out if you start feeling overwhelmed or just need a minute to yourself.

You can find out more about ONCA’s access & facilities here.

Event accessibility

• antibacterial wipes, hand sanitising gel and FFP2 NR masks will be provided and are free to use for everyone.
• after Carmen Papalia’s Open Access manifesto, we define access as people coming together in a temporary, collectively held space and putting trust in each other to respond to each other’s needs with support, we hope we can collectively work towards this.
• this is an informal space and you are invited to tend to your needs when they arise: you are welcome to take sensory breaks and toilet or food breaks whenever you wish, and please ask for support with your needs, boundaries and limitations as much as you please.
• all activities we offer are an invitation that you are encouraged to decline if that feels best.
• we will have a 10-min break in the middle but you are encouraged to take small breaks throughout.
• there will be two facilitators (perse & vi), one of whom will be available most times if any feelings or thoughts come up that you want to be witnessed in a non-judgemental held way (or for somebody to stay with you through the overwhelm).

Find out what else is happening at ONCA in honour of Remembrance Day for Lost Species, by clicking here.