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Online Writing Workshop Series for Survivors

14 Jan Online Writing Workshop Series for Survivors

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BRISSC is offering a 6-week online group for survivors who are keen to explore creative writing as a tool for activism, self-expression and collective healing.

We believe that we are all inherently creative so whether you are an experienced writer or have never written before, all skill levels are welcome – no prior experience is necessary.
 

When: Tuesday the 18th February to Tuesday 25th of March 2025
10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Where: Online – ZOOM

RSVP: [email protected]    OR  [email protected]
 

We are wanting to offer this group at a time when one of the biggest human rights disasters of our lifetime is unfolding before our eyes. The level of gendered violence being inflicted upon lands, women, children and gender-diverse folk is overwhelming – a global disaster which demands urgent action from those in power yet each day these calls continue to be ignored. This impacts us all. The good news though is that art and creativity have always been at the heart of revolutionary change so we want to take this opportunity to highlight the importance of art, self-expression and storytelling as tools for challenging injustice and individual and collective healing.

Over the 6 weeks we will work in collaboration with @ainetyrrellmusic Áine Tyrrell who is a staunch Irish artist, survivor and activist to build on creative processes and skills to support your writing. The group will have some structure and planned activities as well as some space to explore your creativity with support.

If you are interested in joining a community of likeminded folk to share stories through art, build solidarity and connect in a world that silences and ignores the voices of survivors please reach out.

Please contact Bec or Hannah to discuss your accessibility needs, questions or to reserve a spot

Please note that spaces are limited & we have a catchment area for our workshops. We’re excited to hear from you ✨

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DisconjugatedBy Emma Le Strange(2022) 1920 x 1080p 60fps, digital mixed media.

Truth... lies... they are not joined or are they? Here lies the disconjugation of public comment. Do you believe her or do you distrust her?
Will I be believed or will I be condemned to the level of lies?

Emma is a multidisciplinary artist who draws on life expirience to guide out strong emotions held within the viewers of her art.
Her art practices include drawing, illustration, etching, costumery, singer songwriting, writing, poetry, digital media and animation.

Artwork DescriptionAbout the artistNot for sale.
Home. The tree. Addiction. BloomBy Ali Pike(2022) 39 x 29cm, water colour on paper
and 45.5 x 92cm, mixed media on canvas.

The beginning (home). The tree - from a repressed memory, a letter to my cousin. Addiction - The illusion of control. Bloom - I have always been her, but now I bloom.

Artwork DescriptionFor sale. $30 each.
Kintsugi Self Portrait - Broken is BeautifulBy Ava Grayson(2022) 105 x 85cm, acrylic and oils on canvas.

I have always been creative and drawn or painted all my life. I believe and feel that to create art is magicaland I hope each of my pieces people are able to feel that magic by stepping into another world through that piece. Which is why I sign all my pieces with a dragonfly so everyone can have a little piece of magic. After surviving a crime early in life I focused on work, usually more than one job at a time. So I never had time for letting my creative side out. I realised that this was not feeding my creative side. I feel that my art is immature because of taking me a long time to get here, after working on it full time for 2 years I am excited at how far I have come and am excited to see wjere my gift will take me. Being a person who likes a bit of this and a bit of that I don't like to put my art in a box and restrict myself. I like to explore different mediums, different art, use recycled items, any subject and make what I feel. Bring to life that feeling.

About the artistNot for sale.
HURTBy Camilla Strand(2022) 59.4 x 84.1cm, acrylic and paint pens on card.

Inspired by the interaction of my body during the art process, HURT was created by using large sytreaks of black paint pen on pink card. I wanted to find a way to express my rage of the never-ending trauma of woman-hood via art. I also utilised a palette knife to scrape pink acrylic paint over the back as a nod to the violent enforcment of gendered stereotypes. I made the face messy and unclear as a way to express the feeling of disintegration that occurs to my mental health as each new trauma is piled on. Although pink is a heavily gendered colour, it also represents unconditional love, which is somthing that is foundational to all of my creative expression.

Camilla Strand is a multi disciplinary feminist artist working in the fields of art, music & writing. Informed by second wave feminism, Camilla seeks to expose the lie that is patriarchy and strengthen women & herself to believe in our power.

Artwork DescriptionAbout the artistFor sale. $270.
Flowers of HealingBy Natalie Cermak(2021) 40 x 50cm, 30 x 60cm, 50 x 40cm, acrylic on canvas.

I am more than the sum of my scars, I am so much more involved than the disfigurment you think you left me with, you tried to re-arrange my truth by silencing and shaming, even abuse. Yet here I am watching perpetrators with pin point accuracy, not pretty but en Pointe, J't'accuse! There is never a reasonable excuse to silence victims, all who did and said nothing, turned a blind eye, enabled this abhorrent practice. It's outragous and has to stop, speak your truthy and your anger, for your truth is more than a sum or your scars. It may help heal some, so be brave, be able, speak now

Told never to do art at age 12, in 20's denied entry to arts degree due to tremors and artistic unsuitability, now early 60 and enjoying art as an expression of self and finally accepted into an arts degree in University pathway, Apparently my scars, abilities, disabilities and tremors are now acceptable. And it's now my time to express myself.

Artwork DescriptionAbout the artistFor Sale. $85.
The SUM of my SCARSBy Nicholi Whyte(2022) 76.1 x 61cm, acrylic on canvas.

I am more than the sum of my scars, I am so much more involved than the disfigurment you think you left me with, you tried to re-arrange my truth by silencing and shaming, even abuse. Yet here I am watching perpetrators with pin point accuracy, not pretty but en Pointe, J't'accuse! There is never a reasonable excuse to silence victims, all who did and said nothing, turned a blind eye, enabled this abhorrent practice, It's outragous and has to stop, speak your truthy and your anger, for your truth is more than a sum or your scars. It may help heal some, so be brave, be able, speak now.

Told never to do art at age 12, in 20's denied entry to arts degree due to tremors and artistic unsuitability, now early 60 and enjoying art as an expression of self and finally accepted into an arts degree in University pathway, Apparently my scars, abilities, disabilities and tremors are now acceptable. And it's now my time to express myself.

Artwork DescriptionAbout the artistNot for sale.
PedophileBy Finn(2022) 120 x 34 x 28cm, acrylic paint on sewn fabric.

Pedophile explores the lifelong impacts of child sexual abuse. Red hand prints are representative of the physical nature of the abuse, and the mark this leaves. Coffee staining is symbolic of the lifelong stain of mental illness left by the abuse. Loudly printed words represent the internal struggle of lacking a vouce but having so much pain, while forming the fabric into the form of a dress represents finding a voice and beginning to heal. The dress deliberatly lacks shape and form to depict the artists shame and need to hide their body as it developed.

Artwork DescriptionFor Sale. Open to offers.
Not GuiltyBy Reyne Andrews(2022) 100 x 100cm, acrylic on canvas.

"Not guilty" personifie's society's proclivity to blame victims of all forms of sexual violence. News Headlines are utilised to expose misogynistic undertones that encourage socially-sanctioned victim-blaming, whereby the victim becomes the perpetrator.

Artwork DescriptionFor Sale. $50 or donation to a relevent charity.
Goddess of Yin (Bath Bitch)(2022) 60 x 46cm, oil on canvas.

I studied Fine Art at Central St Martins in London a decade ago. Since then, my art practice has evolved adapting with my invisible illness. My practice explores society's perception of the self help movment, and toxic positivity from a feminist viewpoint. I spend a lot of time researching. observing and contemplating, so I can physically make the final work without exacerbating my health issues. The quick making process gives an immediacy and ephemeralness to my work.

About the artistFor Sale. $1850.
Magical Love Overturning DarknessBy Lacey Page(2022) 100 x 65cm, mixed media on paper.For Sale. $500.
Falling Forbidden Fruit, of the Uprooted Family Tree,
After Millenia of Dicktatorship.By Rhiannon Pineau(2022) 75 x 60 x 15cm, mixed media on canvas.

There is a theory that the biblical tree, forbidden to Adam and Eve, was not only that of the Tree of Knowledge, but also a representation the Family Tree. The forbidden fruit of incest and the ripe temptation that makes men sin.
For a long as the 'Civilized World' has existed the patriarchy has controlled the moral compass of the family and society. Holding the puppet strings of the family tree, tradition and law. Blood binds these. A patriarchal dicktatorship, for thousands of years, unsatisfied men have been rewriting and translating the moral code to fit their agenda.
The forbidden fruit are leaving this system, uprooting the family tree. Falling floating, they reach out to be heard. Silently screaming for change, if you listen you will learn.

Artwork DescriptionFor Sale. $3200.
Blinded FacesBy Dilsah the Solution(2020) 61 x 61cm, mixed media, ink, oil and pastel on canvas.

Sometimes in life we are blinded and it feels very hard to take the blind fold away. Blinded ourselves because of the society stigmas. We can be or not be aware of it and it will take time to gather strength to open our eyes to what it is. Feeling sadness, small death within until growth comes release occur.

Artwork DescriptionFor Sale. $550.
PowerBy Edie Barrett(2022) 21 x 29.7cm, ink and pastel on archival paper.

Felt memories
trapped
inside my body
released onto paper

Artwork DescriptionNot for sale.Stolen(2022) 59.4 x 84.1 cm, Indian ink, butchers paper and printed collaged card.For sale. $100 framed, $50 unframed.Reclaim(2022) 29.7 x 42.0 cm, Digital paper print (from collage and ink).For sale. $50 (print edition 1 of 50).Fire(2022) 21 x 29.7cm, ink and pastel on archival paper.Not for sale.
Eyes Wide OpenBy Ingrid(2022) 11 x 12cm, lino print on paper.

I am learning to welcome and accept all the parts of me, the light and the dark of me:
the gorgeously loud, beautifully angry, boisterous, non-censoring parts of me
AND the gentle, quiet, compliant, forgiving parts.
The yin and the yang of me
Society had taught me it's only acceptable for me to be gentle and to turn a blind eye to the violations that I experience.
It’s because of the "entitled" perpetrator that I am on this journey, more determined to explore WHO I AM and pursue what I want for me.
Today, I have my eyes wide open.

Artwork DescriptionNot for sale.
WaitingBy Tasha Riley(2022) 40 x 40cm, acrylic on canvas.

“You hold her hand, under the shade of the Jacaranda tree, whose branches protect her from the afternoon sun, as you both sit waiting.
Waiting.
Waiting for news.
The phone rings.
Your soft sweater helps muffle her screams, yet it will not dry her tears that continue to fall.
Fall.
Fall over roots.
Fall over the roots of the Jacaranda tree whose branches still protect her, strong and unwavering, attempting to compensate for a system that did not.”

Tasha Riley is Brisbane-based artist, born in London, Canada. She completed her BFA Honours at Western University where she was awarded The Governor General’s Gold Medal Award for Fine Arts, The Benjamin Noble Award for the Arts, and the Greg Curnoe Art Award. Tasha’s paintings have been featured at The McIntosh Gallery and The Palace at 4 am (London, Canada) as well as within the juried Brisbane Art Prize Exhibition at The Judith Wright Contemporary Art Centre. Her solo show, “All The Things She Didn’t Say” was recently exhibited in Galerie Aesop at Tiny Tree Cafe and featured paintings inspired by her lived experiences, expressing emotions too difficult to convey in words--enabling a reconnection to the deeper self. Her art illustrates particular moments in time each representing relatable emotional states (angst; despair; joy; resilience). Tasha has this to say about her art: “Painting allows me to express the things I want to say but I am unable to express…the pain of a loss too difficult to speak about, the feeling of rain after a long dry spell, the feeling of loving and being loved, or the secret that can never be shared.

Artwork DescriptionAbout the artistFor Sale. $350.
Her EyesBy Taylah Hunn(2022) 35 x 45cm, mixed media (Charcoal, Dried Flowers, Mirror Glass).

Her eyes are a memory burnt into my brain forever like an iron stick.
Her eyes are glazed, they look sad, trapped and completely hopeless.
I think to myself ‘she looks drugged’, ‘she must be forced to do this’.
But the rest of her body tells a different story, she is smiling, dancing, doing her job - a prostitute at a bar in Nana Plaza, the largest red light district in Thailand.
Her eyes do not look happy.
Does she have a choice? Does she want to be here? Does she have to be here? Who is forcing her to be here?
She sits on my father’s lap that night, and we catch each other’s gaze for a moment that stops time.
I look into her glazed, exhausted eyes and feel sorry for her, for the injustice in the world, for all the women trafficked and forced to do this job.
But she looks back at me with the same, if not more, look of pity and compassion. And it is at that moment that I realise - I am just as trapped as her.

Artwork DescriptionFor Sale. $100.
My home, my hellBy Taylah Hunn(2020) 59.4 x 84.1 cm, charcoal and ink on paper.

My first own studio apartment.
The first place I felt had independence, choice, responsibility, freedom, boundaries. A lock on my door. A proper lease, consistent bills. The freedom to decorate the space as my own, to say no and choose who comes and goes, to create a safe bubble to block out the entire world. No more being on the run, finally a place to settle.
I thought I was safe; no one could hurt me anymore. I am in control.
I didn’t realise that my own mind had become the abuser and I was locked inside with it. I couldn’t outrun my own mind. I finally had my freedom, my bubble, my space - to self-destruct.

Artwork DescriptionFor Sale. $150.
Reclamation of Desire:
Daughters of Aphrodite Hear Me RoarBy Alee Lee(2022) 102 x 102 cm, oil on canvas.For Sale. $1200.
FFSWitch smokeBy Scarly(2022) 29.7 × 42cm, lino print on paper.(2022) 29.7 × 42cm, lino print on paper.

Not another rape myth!

Artwork DescriptionNot for sale.
I Am WomanBy Marilyn Cass(2022) 50 x 65cm, charcoal on pastel paper.Sold.Artwork Description

A woman’s strength, resilience and wisdom are not always obvious, but are forged in the shadows of her suffering and hardships.

How can one be truthful to self? The bronze maskBy Aunty Dawn Daylight(2022) 30.5 x 40.5cm, mixed media on board.Sold.Artwork Description

My goal was to overcome these things; shame, abuse, a child put at risk, abused by someone you know, someone you are supposed to trust, someone who you can identify at a police station in a line up. This is at a time in a different state of mind, this takes a lot of courage. So this is my Gold! I've received this Goal- when finding it, identifying it and knowing it. It is bloody brave! to get this far in time. The path can be different and can help to get easier if you are willing and ready to make a change.

Aunty Dawn is a yuggera woman and has blood lines to the Turrbal people and was born in Ipswich, now resides in Brisbane and has worked with women at BRISSC and have done some work musically with sisters inside. She still works in community with women and sometimes children. She runs workshops with women who have eating disorders. She also worked in the education department, Murri school Acacia Ridge. She also works with indigiliz women and have supported people with mental health issues. She currently works with people in the West end area and with immunel mission working with arts and crafts groups. She also holds a BA Bachelor of arts in Aboriginal Studies through Griffith university and featured in her own film Lost Daylight.

About the artist
Healing on countryBy Kalika Link(2022) 61 x 81cm, mixed media on board.For sale. $1500.For sale. $1000.

Local indigenous artist, decendent of Kabi Kabi, Gooreng Gooreng and Wakka Wakka Nation.

About the artistStrength Amongst Sisters(2022) 50 x 61cm, acrylic on canvas.
Either Move or be MovedBy Karin Cheyne(2022) 70 x 130 x 16cm, weaving installation.Not for sale

Feminist artist.

Create a liberatory culture, wherein we can all learn to love. There can be no love where there is domination… the work of love is doing the work of ending domination - Inspired by Bell Hooks and Ezra Pound

About the artistArtwork Description
Young Warrior WomanBy Ingrid(2022) 20.5 x 20.5cm, watercolors and make up foundation on canvas.Not for sale

Reclaiming what they took from her.

Artwork Description
Sexually abUSED?!TBI, brbBy Al McGyver(2022) 39 x 50cm, analog collage.(2022) 19.5 x 24.5cm, analog collage.Not for saleFor sale. Negotiable.

Al (she/they) is a 26 year analog collagist from Meanjin, and raised in the suburbs of Wynnum. If there’s a material that can be stuck onto paper, there’s a high chance it will end up in a piece of art.

About the artist