By Nohad ElHajj
Ahead of their book launch ‘In the company of Loss: Oral History and Feminist Legacies’, Knowledge Workshop, one of our favorite local partners, asked Perspectivity partner Nohad ElHajj to design and facilitate a creative workshop that will allow participants to engage with two chapters of the book dealing with the legacy of Etel Adnan and Nadine Jouni.
On the 3rd and 4th of December 2022, twelve participants gathered in the cozy space of the organization where we embarked on a journey to collectively, slowly, and intimately engage with the overarching theme of the book, Feminist Legacies. With a lot of thoughtfulness, they contemplated together over the two chapters and they delved deeper on other subtopics from the two texts such as loss, mourning, motherhood, brotherhood, feminist organization, and the power of creativity.
The creative workshop was designed in two parts; the first day was dedicated to reflecting, writing and sharing, and the second day was dedicated to reading, listening and creating a creative output.
At the end of day one, the participants produced individual writings; among them was a beautiful poem. They also used those writings to come up with a collective written piece; they titled it “Letter of Appreciation”.
The end product of day two embodied the ideas, explorations, and individual and collective bonds that were experienced during the workshop. The product included the individual writings of the workshop participants (inside part) and group writing (inside frame). They collectively made the cover using colors and stamps.
Want to know more about Writeshops? Contact Nohad ElHajj.
Check www.ourstoriesofchange.com website to read about the first Writeshop we did in Lebanon.