Creatively Exploring Estrangement

2025

As part of my interest in the subject of belonging - and as part of my wider (be)longing project - in winter 2025 I ran a series of 5 creative workshops focusing on estrangement for queer people.

Delivered at LGBTQIA+ arts charity QUEERCIRCLE, the workshops provided space to creatively explore our experiences of family estrangement, touching on themes of loss, reclaiming our power, reimagining what and who constitutes as our family members, and to provide peer to peer support through the sharing of resources.

The arc for the workshop series focused on mapping personal roots, materialising (be)longing through objects, destruction and transformations, collaboratively inventing new kinship archetypes and looking towards speculative futures.

Whilst these pilot workshops have now concluded, I am looking at how to build upon these workshops and the evidenced need for this space.

Full impact data from workshop participants will be available in spring/summer 2026 when my (be)longing project concludes.

These workshops were funded and supported by QUEERCIRCLE and Arts Council England, with facilitation support from artist Alexandra Stenberg.