What’s On…
We’ve got lots of great events coming up over the next few weeks!
(full details below this summary… so keep scrolling!)
Why not book yourself on…
* Your Voice Matters! Two new six week introduction to therapeutic writing short courses starting next week in Worcester (on Wednesday afternoons at The Hive) and Hereford (at The Courtyard on Friday evenings) in collaboration with Herefordshire & Worcestershire Wellbeing & Recovery College. (FREE EVENT).
* Our autism & mental health special with Antony Owen and Neil Laurenson + open mic at our monthly Speak Your Mind poetry night at The Old Needleworks, Redditch on 4th October.from 7-10pm. Antony is a world-renowned poet and Neil is a local delight, so this one is unmissable! We’d especially like to hear from neurodivergent writers and their loved ones on the open mic, so drop us an email if you’d like to read!
* Survivors Say… our brand new peer-led writing group for survivors of sexual violence and abuse. Starting online on 5th October 7-9pm. Giving survivors a safe space and a platform to be heard.(FREE EVENT).
Facilitated by Jemima Hughes & Holly Winter-Hughes
* Mindfulness Walks on the second Sunday of every month. Our gentle mindfulness walks, led by Dr Tanya Carpenter, followed by space to write are returning in October after a month off. We’ve reduced the price to encourage attendance! First-timers get a pack of free bespoke mindfulness & reflective writing prompt cards.
* History in the Making – gathering materials for our city-wide exhibition and anthology launch next March, we continue to deliver a programme of art with Oliver Bliss, zine making and photography with Gerard Winter-Hughes and writing with Holly Winter-Hughes. These sessions use resources from the Worcester Archives as inspiration, as they encourage us to explore and document our own modern-day stories through a variety of different art forms. (FREE EVENT).
* Free Archive Tours as part of History in the Making During the History in the Making sessions you’ve been using copies of items from the archives as inspiration to create some amazing artistic work. This is a small selection of a wide-ranging collection of over twelve miles of archival material, and the Worcester Archive & Archaeological Service would love to tell you more about it and how to use it! As part of the History in the Making Project we are offering two free opportunities to find out more, click on the below links for more details! (If you haven’t joined a HITM workshop yet but have engaged with our other work, you are still welcome to join the tours!) (FREE EVENT)
https://e-services.Worcestershire.gov.uk/LibraryEvents/EventDetails.aspx?id=5796
https://e-services.Worcestershire.gov.uk/LibraryEvents/EventDetails.aspx?id=5797
* We’re delighted to announce that we’re partners and patrons of Cheltenham Poetry Festival and will be supporting next year’s distinguished Poetry Slam on April 20th 2024! Entries are now open and an extra slot will be given to any of our alumni, so be sure to mention us when you submit your bio!
A little note about ticket sales. Where possible we try to secure funding to keep events free. Sometimes this isn’t possible, so we rely on ticket sales to keep things going. We do try to keep these as low as possible. Spoz, Gez and myself do a lot of work on a voluntary basis. However, we do believe in paying a fair wage to people who host our nights, facilitate events, headline etc. We mostly work with marginalised artists, and supporting them is important to us. We also want to keep delivering quality! If you are unable to pay for an event with a fee attached, please email me and I will discretely ensure you have a ticket. If you are able to pay more than the ticket cost, then please do feel free to donate to our ko-fi site. As a not-for-profit organisation, any money we make goes straight back into producing more workshops, more events and more books.
https://ko-fi.com/thewordassociation
If you are unable to support us financially, please don’t underestimate the power of spreading the word! Share our posts on social media, tell your friends about our upcoming events and even share this newsletter around!
I hope to see you all at an event soon,
Holly Winter-Hughes
Founder and Chief Executive, The Word Association CIC
info@the-word-association.com
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Your Voice Matters
In this welcoming six session introductory course you will try different ways of using creative writing as a means of self-expression and self care.
We will look at a variety of ways of expressing yourself through writing, such as:
- Free verse poetry
- Journalling
- Dialogue
- Memoir/Life Story
- Reframing narrative
- Free writing/Automatic writing
“Thank you for this opportunity, the skills I have learnt on our course with you have been life-changing. My writing has made me feel more connected and given my skill to help me manage my feelings in such a powerful way.” past participant
These sessions will give you the tools you need to use writing as a way to improve your emotional wellbeing.
We encourage participants to attend all six sessions of this course if possible.
As part of the project, participants of the course will be given the opportunity to have their writing published in a Worcestershire anthology. No previous writing experience necessary. Everyone welcome.
Worcester Course:
6 sessions: Wednesdays 12.30-2.30pm. (27th September, 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th October and 1st November).
The Hive, The Butts, Worcester, WR1 3PD
Hereford Course:
6 sessions: Fridays 6pm – 8pm. (29th September, 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th October and 3rd November).
The Courtyard Theatre, Edgar St, Hereford HR4 9JR
If you have any issues booking through the College website, please email us and we’ll pass your details on for enrolment.
(Commissioned by Herefordshire & Worcestershire Wellbeing & Recovery College and supported by Community First and NHS Charities Together).
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Speak Your Mind
Every month at The Old Needleworks, Redditch we bring you some top-notch spoken word performers, and the most honest and captivating open mic we’ve ever seen!
“These nights are literally making my year!”
Don’t forget to book your tickets. As it’s our autism & mental health special, we’re asking anyone who is neurodivergent (or their families) to email ahead for a priority open mic slot.
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Survivors Say…
Our new writing group for survivors will happen online once a fortnight, for 10 sessions. No one will be expected to disclose any details about their abuse, or write about it (unless they want to). The prompts will not focus on abuse or past trauma. The idea of this space, is to allow survivors of sexual violence a sphere where they feel understood and without judgement. This is not an alternative for therapy. The sessions will be sensitively led by writers with lived experience of sexual violence.
If you’d like to join the sessions, please email holly at info@the-word-association.com * and ask to join the SS group. I’ll email you the Zoom link and gentle guidance rules (to keep everyone safe). To support consistency, please try to commit to the full ten sessions where possible.
Dates: 5th Oct, 19th Oct, 2nd Nov, 16th Nov, 7th Dec, 21st Dec, 4th Jan, 18th Jan, 1st Feb, 15th Feb.
* Please note that Holly is the only person with access to this email account
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Monthly Mindfulness Walks
On our monthly mindfulness walks, Dr Tanya Carpenter leads a small group of participants on a short walk, during which you’ll learn and practice the principles of mindfulness. These sessions will give you a deeper understanding of how you can apply mindfulness to your own daily lives.
Through Tanya’s gentle guidance and the interaction with the rest of the group, you’ll start to deepen your understanding of mindfulness and how it can help support mental wellbeing. There is space to reflect on your experiences, and ask questions.
After the short walk, there will be time to get a drink from The Hive café, followed by space to write creatively and reflect deeper if you’d like to. The writing element will be supported by one of The Word Association’s writing facilitators (usually Holly).
The group meet from 10am in The Hive café space, and the walk will start promptly at 10.30.
First time participants will be gifted a set of bespoke ‘Write About Now’ cards, designed especially for these events. They feature 12 mindfulness prompts, and 12 reflective writing prompts to support your mindfulness and writing practice outside of the sessions.
These sessions are fully accessible.
Everyone is welcome regardless of level of previous experience with mindfulness or writing.
This event is for over 18s. If you have a medical condition that we need to be aware of, please contact us in advance of the event and let us know how we can assist you.
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History in the Making
FREE tickets for the following events are available now (thanks to the generosity of Arts Council England, the City Council and The Elmley Foundation).
HIVE Tuesday 26 September 7-9pm Photography with Gez on identity/portraits
THEME: FOUND (BELONGING)
HIVE Saturday 7 October 12.30-2.30 Writing with Holly
SUGAR DADDY’S Tuesday 10 October 7-9pm Art with Oly
HIVE Saturday 21 October 12.30-2.30 Photography with Gez
HIVE Tuesday 24 October 7-9pm Art with Oly
UNDERCROFT Saturday 28 October 12.30-2.30 Zinemaking with Gez
(on the theme of ‘Day in the Life’
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Cheltenham Poetry Festival Slam
Don’t forget to book your space and mention us in the bio to have an additional chance of being able to compete. If the idea of slamming feels overwhelming, chat to myself or Spoz and we’ll give you some pointers!
Email enquiriescpf@gmail.com
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Key Dates…
Tues 26th Sept 7-9pm, The Hive – portraiture photography workshop with Gez (History in the Making)
Weds 27th Sept 12.30-2.30pm, The Hive, Worcester – Your Voice Matters therapeutic writing course with Holly (for 6 weeks)
Friday 29th Sept 6-8pm, The Courtyard, Hereford – Your Voice Matters therapeutic writing course with Holly (for 6 weeks)
Weds 4th Oct 7-10pm, The Old Needleworks, Redditch. Speak Your Mind with Antony Owen & Neil Laurenson, hosted by Jemima Hughes with open mic (autism & mental health special).
Thurs 5th Oct 7-9pm, online. Survivors Say… fortnighly survivors writing group (for 10 sessions) with Holly & Jemima
Sat 7th Oct 12.30-2.30pm, The Hive – writing workshop with Holly on the theme ‘found/belonging’ (History in the Making)
Sunday 8th Oct 10.30-1pm – The Hive Café – mindfulness walk with Dr Tanya Carpenter, followed by space to write
Tues 10th Oct 7-9pm – Sugar Daddy’s Café, Worcester – Art with Oly on the theme ‘found/belonging’ (History in the Making)
Sat 21 Oct 12.30-2.30pm, The Hive – photography workshop with Gez on the theme ‘found/belonging’ (History in the Making)
Tues 24 Oct 7-9pm – Sugar Daddy’s Café, Worcester – Art with Oly on the theme ‘found/belonging’ (History in the Making)
Sat 28th Oct 12.30-2,30pm, The Undercroft Learning Centre, Worcester Cathedral – zinemaking workshop with Gez on the theme ‘Day in the Life’ (History in the Making) – participants will be able to have a short run of their own short publication printed as part of the project.
April 20th 2024 – Slam – sign up now!
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We hope to see many of you at these events. If you have any queries, email Holly at info@the-word-association.com.
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