Our workshop this week was pretty intense, but overall went well. The workshop itself was a continuation of last week– where we brought in cutout words from the newspaper and everyone constructed their own individual newspapers by either collaging the words or writing out sentences including the words. We had found that this was a great activity because it allowed for a lot of individual creativity and choice, as the inmates and ourselves were able to make things that were either bizarre, funny, or more of a more serious nature. We had decided to do the same project for two consecutive weeks since last time it had felt like there just wasn’t enough time to complete the papers in the time allotted.
One challenge was that different women kept coming in and out of the workshop (to a greater degree than before) so it was hard to do introductions and closing presentations. What made the workshop especially intense was that one woman in particular broke down and began to tell us about being brutally raped. We weren’t really sure how to address the situation– on the one hand we had to keep the workshop going, and on the other it was really frustrating to feel like there was so little that we could do to work with her in the context of SPACE. Ultimately, we gave her Mimi’s contact information and emphasized the importance of contacting Mimi for legal aid. Molly and I also discussed how to deal with future situations similar to this one. Also, we realized that we had gone way over the allotted time (leaving Tasha and Evan waiting) and discussed working to follow the schedule more closely.
In the moment, this experience also seemed to undermine the value in doing funnier, more lighthearted workshops. For next week, in light of this, we are going to bring in a poem of a more serious nature and try to have a more in-depth discussion and writing session. While we know that we’re not psychologists or lawyers and cannot provide these services, we also think that it will be beneficial to create a space where these issues can at least be safely discussed among the women.
1 comment:
Molly, Anna,
it seems like you guys handled the situation perfectly. those situations are so tough... there is no right answer on how to deal with the moments in which you are being trusted so intensely (sometimes without reason), but feel so powerless. i'm so glad you gave her mimi's info. please let me know if you want to discuss this further, in person.
As for seriousness, i have almost ALWAYS opted for serious material rather than fun. tess, last year, really emphasized the fun-making purpose of SPACE, and i think that is important. the connection between art (particularly writing) and suffering is inescapable, and i have found that the most powerful workshops have been those where all of us involved bare ourselves and delve into some of that pain. so i hear you. again, let's talk more?
A
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