#consentMcGill

[growthonthehorizon]

On March 22, Growth on the Horizon will bring survivors, students, artists, allies, community organizers, administrators, faculty, staff, and front-line workers together at McGill to participate in arts-based activities that foster exchange and reflection around the reality of sexual and gendered violence on campus, along with individual, collective and institutional forms of healing and care. Interactive activities and art installations will take place all-day in the Arts Building Lobby; while scheduled workshops & presentations will take place across campus. For the full schedule, please visit: https://growthonthehorizon.tumblr.com/schedule This event is free & open to the public. *** WORKSHOPS & PRESENTATIONS [Disclaimer: The following workshops address sexual assault, sexual harassment, and related forms of violence and may be emotionally triggering for some people. Please also note that the schedule may be subject to change due to circumstances beyond our control.] * 10 - 11 AM - A Letter to my Future Self Arts 350 (accessible) Participants will write supportive letters to themselves for a future moment of hopelessness, sadness, or vulnerability. What would help in that moment? How might you be able to achieve your desired state? Facilitators: Chelsey Weir & Hayley Crooks * 10:30 - 11:30 AM - Disclosure Dilemma: Responding to Gendered Violence on Campus. Arts B55, The Moving Image Resource Lab (accessible via theatre elevator; volunteers are on standby to provide directions to students with accessibility needs who would like to attend this workshop – please message sofia.misenheimer@mail.mcgill.ca for more information) Our goal is to explore the complexity and challenges that come with seeking help, disclosing, responding and writing policies in response to sexual aggression. Discussions following the workshop will facilitate an expansion of awareness about rape culture and gendered & sexual violence, exploring the space between what rape culture is perceived to be versus what it is day-to-day. This piece will be of interest to students, teachers, staff and administration, and individuals writing policy. Facilitators: Charlotte Di Berardo, Peter Shaw, Anne-Marie St-Louis, and Brittany Sweet * 11 AM - 1 PM - Speaking our Healing Arts 350 (accessible) What do we do in aftermath of sexual violence? How do we rediscover our voice? How can we begin to express what happened or who we are now? If rape culture demands our silence – is expression the path to our healing? These are some of the questions this workshop seeks to explore. The first half will be spent discussing the importance and the challenge of self-expression for sexual violence survivors; during the second half, participants will be invited to express their thoughts, feelings and/or reflections through the written and spoken word (i.e. letter-writing, poetry, prose, short stories, creative non-fiction, etc.). This workshop is closed to self-identified victims & survivors of sexual violence. This includes those who've experienced sexual harassment as well as sexual assault. Facilitator: Malek Yalaoui Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/2034459930156768 * 11 AM - 12:30 PM - Tender Hearts Work Hard: A zine workshop with Ambivalently Yours Leacock 738 (accessible) Inspired by the idea that talking and making collectively in a safe setting can facilitate and inspire feminist action, artist Ambivalently Yours invites member of the public to join her for a collaborative zine making workshop. This activity will mirror aspects of the artist's online practice, which uses drawing, ambivalence, and anonymity as a means to expand the limits of empathy and feminist discussions. This workshop is open to participants of all ages, gender identities and artistic levels. Facilitator: Ambivalently Yours Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/228633794349818/ * 12 - 2 PM - Herbalism & Trauma: Herbal Support IGSF Seminar Room 3487 Peel St, 2nd Floor (not accessible) This workshop will explore some of the top herbal allies for anxiety, trauma, and mental health. We will take the time to connect with different herbs through our senses and make a personalized blend to take home. RSVP required: mcgill.ca/igsf/herbalism Facilitator: Pamela Fillion Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/106042723570472/ * 12 – 1 PM - Film screening of "Cold Hands" Arts B55, The Moving Image Resource Lab (accessible via theatre elevator; volunteers are on standby to provide directions to students with accessibility needs who would like to attend this workshop – please message sofia.misenheimer@mail.mcgill.ca for more information) This student-made film by Eric Bizzarri tells the story of the protagonist Lucas, who in an effort to make friends in high school finds himself in a position that compromises his safety. In the aftermath, he realizes that the support he seeks is not guaranteed. Facilitators: Bianca Tetrrault & Aliya Nowaczynski * 12 - 1:30 PM - Self-Care Corner: Wellness Through Potting Event Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support & Education, 550 Sherbrooke O., Suite 585 (accessible) For centuries the therapeutic use of plants has been used as a means for healing. Today, this approach helps trauma survivors and people with PTSD develop emotional safety, engage in narrative restructuring of trauma, and practice mindfulness by reconnecting with the earth. The goal of this self-care corner is to promote wellness for individuals on our campus. There is no cost to this event. Plants, soil, pots, hot water, food and cups will all be provided. RSVP required: involvement.mcgill.ca/event/77929 Facilitators: Consent McGill * 1 - 2 PM – Health and Wellness at the Library: Creating an Inclusive Space for Students Research Commons Room A, Redpath Library Building (accessible) Students face a variety of challenges and high levels of stress throughout their time at university, and many spend a significant amount of time in the library while coping with these issues. In an effort to support our students, we have developed resources, spaces, and collections to help make the library a safe, inclusive, and welcoming space. This presentation will highlight the various health and wellness related initiatives taking place at the McGill Library, as well as upcoming projects. It will be followed by a short tour of the library to highlight spaces and resources mentioned during the presentation. Facilitator: Robin Canuel, Head Librarian * 1 - 3 PM - Making Memes: Equity and diversity in STEMM with Women in Physics Leacock 738 (accessible) This workshop will open dialogue about issues related to race, class, gender and ability and their intersection with the under-representation of minority populations in STEMM fields. We'll discuss issues pertaining to the social construction of gender, masculinity and femininity in STEMM, intersectionality, implicit bias, micro-aggressions, work-life balance, stereotype threat and imposter syndrome. We will also examine recent media products including cartoons and memes, and discuss origins and solutions to the problem of under representation. Finally, participants can create some memes to convey their thoughts and feelings on any of the topics! Everyone is welcome! Facilitators: Hannah Wakeling & Dr Rosa Rodríguez * 2 - 3 PM - Disclosure Dilemma: Responding to Gendered Violence on Campus. Arts B55, The Moving Image Resource Lab (accessible via theatre elevator; volunteers are on standby to provide directions to students with accessibility needs who would like to attend this workshop – please message sofia.misenheimer@mail.mcgill.ca for more information) Our goal is to explore the complexity and challenges that come with seeking help, disclosing, responding and writing policies in response to sexual aggression. Discussions following the workshop will facilitate an expansion of awareness about rape culture and gendered & sexual violence, exploring the space between what rape culture is perceived to be versus what it is day-to-day. This piece will be of interest to students, teachers, staff and administration and individuals writing policy. Facilitators: Charlotte Di Berardo, Peter Shaw, Anne-Marie St-Louis, and Brittany Sweet * 2 - 4 PM - Picturing Consent: A Photovoice Workshop Education Building, 3700 McTavish, 1st floor (accessible) This workshop will explore the concept of consent in an academic contexts and university campuses. The audience will use their hands to make symbols and gestures of "consent." They will take pictures using a digital camera, print the photo on site and write a small caption on the meaning of the picture. The pictures will be displayed in the space to show the different meanings of consent and sexual-gender-based violence within an academic context, and will be exhibited in the Art Hive during the event. Facilitator: Milka Nyariro, McGill Art Hive Initiative * 2 - 4 PM - Hands-on, Hands-off: A Textile Workshop Education Building, 3700 McTavish, 1st floor (accessible) As human beings, we rely on our hands for mostly everything we do. We use them as tools to explore the world and transform it, and to connect with each other. This workshop focuses on our hands’ creative and caring potential, but also intends to create awareness about their damaging power. Hands-on, Hands-off encourages participants to share their experiences, thoughts and needs, and invites them to listen, understand and respect those of others. In a safe and supportive environment, participants are invited to use their hands to transform fabric gloves to represent experiences related to gender-based violence that may be hard to express in words. The gloves will be creatively transformed to address and understand gender-based sexual violence and rape culture on campuses, allowing our bodies to become sites for healing, resistance, communication, and commemoration. Facilitator: Maria Ezcurra, McGill Art Hive Initiative Facilitator * 3 - 4:30 PM - Bodily, Walking Into the Woods Lobby of the Education Building, 3700 McTavish Walking is as mundane an activity as it can be challenging. For those of us who have experienced any kind of (bodily/psychological) trauma or live with anxiety or depression, something as simple as "walking" (i.e. putting oneself in the public sphere to get from point A to point B) may not be a source of respite or mental relaxation, rather, a space of confrontation (oneself with one's thoughts; oneself with the world). This guided walk proposes a silent, meditative and embodied experience on Mount-Royal. The act of collectively engaging in this everyday action may hopefully offer even the smallest moment of respite as we walk together, in solidarity (even if in silence), sharing a moment of quietude and natural beauty. Walking is as mundane an activity as it is profound. It also opens a space to process, to focus on breath and time for decompression; even allowing us to let go of our thoughts. Walking is a reclamation of (public) space. When we walk in a place, over and over, that place becomes ours. It recalls our experiences as we rewrite them onto these paths. Facilitator: Victoria Stanton * 3 - 5 PM - Safety Strategies Workshop Leacock 738 (accessible) Using maps of campus and surrounding areas, we will use art to explore our personal experiences of those spaces and discuss accessibility, equity, and safety at McGill. This workshop is an opportunity to celebrate your favourite spaces to hang out and to share with others, or to talk about how you navigate struggles and use safety strategies to get around these spaces. Safety strategies are any tools, resources, or approaches we use in our day-to-day lives to increase feeling of safety (not just physical safety, but comfort, access, ease, etc.) in the spaces around us. The goal of the workshop is to create a personal artwork depicting your unique experience of safety, or lack thereof, on and around campus. With your consent, artwork produced during this workshop will be published as part of a digital art exhibition and zine. Facilitators: Right to Campus McGill * 3 - 5 PM - (Re)-CREATE your Visual Narrative: An Experiential Art Therapy Workshop Arts B55, The Moving Image Research Laboratory (accessible via theatre elevator; volunteers are on standby to provide directions to students with accessibility needs who would like to attend this workshop – please message sofia.misenheimer@mail.mcgill.ca for more information) This experiential art therapy workshop will explore how creating and altering images can help to externalize and reorganize the physical and emotional narrative, increase feelings of power, control, and facilitate the positive reintegration of feelings. Art materials will be provided for use and sharing will be based on each participant’s comfort level and is not an obligation. This workshop is intended for survivors of gendered & sexual violence, and those interested in experiencing the art therapy process and how it may be useful for healing. Facilitators: Marissa Singer (art therapist, MA, ATPQ) & Jessica Gardner (art therapist, MA, ATPQ) * 6 - 8 PM - How to Respond to Disclosures Brown Building, Room 5001 (accessible) Participants will learn about the prevalence of sexual violence at McGill and in the larger community, and the various impacts that sexual violence can have. You will learn how to respond to and support people affected by sexual violence by using appropriate tools and approaches. Participants will then practice these tools and methods they have learned through group activities and case scenarios. The workshop will also explore key terms and discuss common myths and misconceptions about sexual violence that may affect one's ability to effectively respond to and support disclosures. Participants will also learn about the many different support resources available on campus and in the community. Facilitator: Bianca Tétrault, Sexual Violence Education Advisor Activities in the Arts Building Lobby [Note on harm reduction: SACOMSS will provide active listeners in the Arts Lobby throughout the day. The Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support and Education (open all day) also welcomes students in need of confidential, non-judgmental and non-directional support at 550 Sherbrooke O., Suite 585, West Tower 1-11 Elevator. Tel: 514.398.3786, 514.398.4486] *** ACTIVITIES IN THE ARTS BUILDING LOBBY 9 AM - Setting the Intention for the Day Mariana Marcassa works as a solo performance artist who understands sound as an affect that by vibrating within our bodies, connects us with the forces of life. She will lead an interactive performance, using her voice to open the event and offer paths for alternative modes of existence, expression and contact with the forces of the world. * 9 AM – 5 PM - PostSecret McGill Decorate postcards that illustrate "what you need" on campus to feel safer and heal from rape culture and gendered violence. Cards will be displayed as part of a traveling installation on campuses across Montreal and published in Art/iculation magazine. Facilitator: Sofia Misenheimer, Art/iculation magazine * 9 AM – 5PM - Colouring Station Colouring is therapeutic! Stop by for a quick colouring session, or take some of our original colouring pages home for later. Contributing artists include Ambivalently Yours, Cassie Jones, Stephanie Wereley, and Chelsey Weir. * 9 AM – 5 PM - Crea·ture Com·forts Tear up strips of used clothing, personalize them with a message, and then tie them on to a collaborative carpet. The aim is to turn negative memories into positive ones with comforting, and creative potential. Facilitator: Christina Marie Phelps * 9 AM – 5 PM - Bodymapping The Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS) will offer paper silhouettes, to be coloured in by passersby. By the end of the day, the silhouettes will be filled with affirmations, illustrations, and colours representative of survivor experience, positive growth, healing, emotion, and self-defined wellbeing. This activity will be based around drawing one’s feelings in regard to their own self/experiences, but will be effectuated in a way that allows multiple people to portray their experiences within one work. * 11 AM - 1 PM - IMPACTS Booth The IMPACTS project aims to address sexual violence in all its physical and virtual forms in university contexts. We achieve this through evidence-based research and partnered collaborations to inform policies that protect and support survivors and ensure due process for alleged perpetrators. Facilitators: Dr. Carrie Rentschler, Arianne Kent & Ayesha Vemuri * 11 AM - 1 PM - SWSA Booth Stop by the Social Work Student Association (SWSA) booth to learn more about the importance of degendering bathrooms at McGill, as well as initiatives the sexual violence action committee has developed through action on sexual violence and harassment in field placements for social work students. Facilitators: Jacqueline Ohayon, Vincent Mousseau, Anne-Julie Lozeau * 12 - 3 PM - Screenprinting Bring a shirt, bag, or other item to decorate! Participants will screenprint quotes relating to the theme of empowerment, alliance, and survival. The goal of this exercise is to promote wellness and show support for survivors through clothing. Facilitator: David Rawalia, Machino * 1 - 3 PM - Consent McGill Booth The Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support and Education (Consent McGill) provides confidential, non-judgmental and non-directional support and education to students, faculty and staff of all genders who have been impacted by sexual violence. Sexual violence and its consequences disproportionately affect members of social groups based on their intersecting experiences of oppression. Our work is informed by a survivor-centred, feminist and intersectional lens, and we seek to empower individuals impacted by sexual violence in making informed decisions based on their identified needs. * 1 - 5 PM - Scratch Back Participants will learn the basics of direct animation—animating directly on 16mm film using coloured markers on clear leader, as well as scratching into existing films to “graffiti” the images. With each frame representing 1/24 of an image, direct animation is a meditative and durational process. Participants will be invited to spend as much or as little time as they like, with the goal of producing a collective film edited together from the daylong activity. This work will eventually be projected on locations around campus and re-shot, as an intervention in the public space of campus and as a way to take back the university’s space through messages and images that speak to current conditions around sexual violence on campus, and also imagine a university without sexual assault. Facilitators: Alanna Thain (MIRL & IGSF) & Eric Craven (Atwater Library & Computer Centre) Art Installations in the Arts Building Lobby *** ART INSTALLATIONS IN THE ARTS BUILDING LOBBY Altaring Solitude: Alone, Together This secular shrine will encourage a moment of quiet self-reflection, meditation, and catharsis for passing students, faculty, and staff. Much like a Day of the Dead altar, meant to expel loss while mourning, the shrine will create an immersive space for participants to acknowledge instances of violence and pain, without erasing or suppressing their memories. Additionally, the shrine fosters awareness and understanding around sexual violence and its impact for those who might not have first hand experience or nuanced insight into the impacts of sexual violence on campus. Artists: Cassie Jones & Sofia Misenheimer * Felted Cocoon for the Deep Web A cocoon installation for caring, resting, and healing shame and guilt. From 3 – 4 PM it will host a restorative discussion facilitated by the artists and a small team of queer and inclusive learning practitioners. For more about the project, please visit: aconstellation.space/2018/02/06/felted-cocoon-for-the-deep-web Artists: Goldjian & Wyï * I'm not a Number This art installation questions the process of survivor disclosure to a trusted friend or faculty. What happens in the time between when survivors disclose and the time it takes to potentially phone a help line for resources? How might policy, training and awareness building aid in helping the community to support survivor disclosures compassionately? Come and participate in this interactive installation designed to highlight and provoke discussion about the complexity of disclosure and the need for policy and education that supports survivors disclosures. Artists: Tina Jones & Charlie Jones ***

Poster:  Illustration by Cassie Jones Colour & Design by Sofia Misenheimer

[growthonthehorizon]

A Letter to my Future Self (A Growth on the Horizon Workshop) When: 10 - 11 am, March 22 Where: Arts 350 (accessible), McGill University Participants will write supportive letters to themselves for a future moment of hopelessness, sadness, or vulnerability. What would help you in that moment? How might you be able to achieve your desired state? Facilitator: Chelsey Weir is in her final year of an Honours degree in Anthropology at McGill University. Her experience surrounds matters of health and wellbeing in various settings and with various populations, including recent immigrants to Canada, senior citizens, as well as women and children in Tanzania. She is most passionate about matters of women's reproductive and sexual wellbeing, and is honoured to be facilitating a workshop as part of Growth on the Horizon.

First image by Aliya Nowaczynski; Second image by Chelsey Weir.

[growthonthehorizon]

As a Growth on the Horizon collaborator, the McGill Art Hive Initiative (MAHI) is offering two workshops from 2 - 4 pm on March 22!

***

Picturing Consent: A Photovoice Workshop When: March 22, 2 - 4 pm Where: McGill Art Hive Initiative, Education Building, 3700 McTavish, 1st floor (accessible) This workshop will explore consent on university campuses. Participants will use their hands to make symbols and gestures of "consent." They will take pictures using a digital camera, print the photo on-site and write a small caption on the meaning of the picture. The pictures will be displayed in the space to show the different meanings of consent and sexual-gender-based violence within an academic context, and will be exhibited in the Art Hive during the event. Facilitator: Milka Nyariro is Ph.D candidate in the Department of Integrated Studies in education (DISE) with a major in Gender and Women’s Studies.  Her work on Gender violence in Education (both implicit and systemic), uses participatory methodologies of Photovoice and Cellphilm with the goal to advocating for policy engagement and social change with disenfranchised populations in educational contexts. 

*

Hands-on, Hands-off: A Textile Workshop When: March 22, 2 - 4 pm Where: McGill Art Hive Initiative, Education Building, 3700 McTavish, 1st floor (accessible) We rely on our hands for most everything we do. We use them as tools to explore the world and transform it, and to connect with each other. This workshop focuses on our hands’ creative and caring potential, but also intends to create awareness about their damaging power. Hands-on, Hands-off encourages participants to share their experiences, thoughts and needs, and invites them to listen, understand and respect those of others. In a safe and supportive environment, participants are invited to use their hands to transform fabric gloves to represent experiences related to gender-based violence that may be hard to express in words. The gloves will be creatively transformed to address and understand gender-based sexual violence and rape culture on campuses, allowing our bodies to become sites for healing, resistance, communication, and commemoration. 

Facilitator: Maria Ezcurra (MFA, PhD in Art Education) is an artist and educator currently working as Art Facilitator at the McGill Art Hive Initiative and in the P. Lantz Artist-in-Residency Program in the Faculty of Education. Maria has participated in numerous exhibits and is currently developing a collaborative art project for the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Her areas of research interest are arts-based research, participatory visual methods, collaborative art practices, feminist art education, dress and textiles, gender-based violence, identity and immigration.

[growthonthehorizon]

Schedule of Workshops and Presentations

[Disclaimer: The following workshops address sexual assault, sexual harassment, and related forms of violence and may be emotionally triggering for some people. Please also note that the schedule may be subject to change due to circumstances beyond our control.]

In addition to all-day activities in the McGill University Arts Building Lobby on March 22; the following workshops & presentations will be offered across campus:

***

10 - 11 AM - A Letter to my Future Self

Arts 350 (accessible)

Participants will write supportive letters to themselves for a future moment of hopelessness, sadness, or vulnerability. What would help you in that moment? How might you be able to achieve your desired state?

Facilitators: Chelsey Weir & Hayley Crooks

*

10:30 - 11:30 AM - Disclosure Dilemma: Responding to Gendered Violence on Campus

Arts B55, The Moving Image Resource Lab (accessible via theatre elevator; volunteers are on standby to provide directions to students with accessibility needs who would like to attend this workshop – please message sofia.misenheimer@mail.mcgill.ca for more information) 

Our goal is to explore the complexity and challenges that come with seeking help, disclosing, responding and writing policies in response to sexual aggression. Discussions following the workshop will facilitate an expansion of awareness about rape culture and gendered & sexual violence, exploring the space between what rape culture is perceived to be versus what it is day-to-day. This piece will be of interest to students, teachers, staff and administration and individuals writing policy.

Facilitators: Charlotte Di Berardo, Peter Shaw, Anne-Marie St-Louis, and Brittany Sweet

*

11 AM - 1 PM - Speaking our Healing

Arts 350 (accessible)

What do we do in aftermath of sexual violence? How do we rediscover our voice? How can we begin to express what happened or who we are now? If rape culture demands our silence – is expression the path to our healing? These are some of the questions this workshop seeks to explore. The first half will be spent discussing the importance and the challenge of self-expression for sexual violence survivors; during the second half, participants will be invited to express their thoughts, feelings and/or reflections through the written and spoken word (i.e. letter-writing, poetry, prose, short stories, creative non-fiction, etc.). This workshop is closed to self-identified victims & survivors of sexual violence. This includes those who've experienced sexual harassment as well as sexual assault.

Facilitator: Malek Yalaoui

*

11 AM - 12:30 PM - Tender Hearts Work Hard: A zine workshop with Ambivalently Yours

Leacock 738 (accessible)

Inspired by the idea that talking and making collectively in a safe setting can facilitate and inspire feminist action, artist Ambivalently Yours invites member of the public to join her for a collaborative zine making workshop. This activity will mirror aspects of the artist's online practice, which uses drawing, ambivalence, and anonymity as a means to expand the limits of empathy and feminist discussions. This workshop is open to participants of all ages, gender identities and artistic levels.

Facilitator: Ambivalently Yours

*

12 - 2 PM - Herbalism & Trauma: Herbal Support

IGSF Seminar Room 3487 Peel St, 2nd Floor (not accessible)

This workshop will explore some of the top herbal allies for anxiety, trauma, and mental health. We will take the time to connect with different herbs through our senses and make a personalized blend to take home. RSVP required: http://www.mcgill.ca/igsf/herbalism

Facilitator: Pamela Fillion

*

12 - 1:30 PM - Self-Care Corner: Wellness Through Potting Event

Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support and Education 550 Sherbrooke O. Suite 585 (accessible)

For centuries the therapeutic use of plants has been used as a means for healing. Today, this approach helps trauma survivors and people with PTSD develop emotional safety, engage in narrative restructuring of trauma, and practice mindfulness by reconnecting with the earth. The goal of this self-care corner is to promote wellness for individuals on our campus. There is no cost to this event. Plants, soil, pots, hot water, food and cups will all be provided. RSVP required: https://involvement.mcgill.ca/event/77929

Facilitators: Consent McGill

*

1 - 2 PM – Health and Wellness at the Library: Creating an Inclusive Space for Students

Research Commons Room A, Redpath Library Building (accessible)

Students face a variety of challenges and high levels of stress throughout their time at university, and many spend a significant amount of time in the library while coping with these issues. In an effort to support our students, we have developed resources, spaces, and collections to help make the library a safe, inclusive, and welcoming space. This presentation will highlight the various health and wellness related initiatives taking place at the McGill Library, as well as upcoming projects. It will be followed by a short tour of the library to highlight spaces and resources mentioned during the presentation.

Facilitator: Robin Canuel, Head Librarian

*

1 - 3 PM - Making Memes: Equity and diversity in STEMM with Women in Physics

Leacock 738 (accessible)

This workshop will open dialogue about issues related to race, class, gender and ability and their intersection with the under-representation of minority populations in STEM fields. We'll discuss issues pertaining to the social construction of gender, masculinity and femininity in STEM, intersectionality, implicit bias, micro-aggressions, work-life balance, stereotype threat and imposter syndrome. We will also examine recent media products including cartoons and memes, and discuss origins and solutions to the problem of under representation. Finally, participants can create some memes to convey their thoughts and feelings on any of the topics! Everyone is welcome!

Facilitators: Hannah Wakeling & Dr Rosa Rodríguez

*

2 - 3 PM - Disclosure Dilemma: Responding to Gendered Violence on Campus

Arts B55, The Moving Image Resource Lab (accessible via theatre elevator; volunteers are on standby to provide directions to students with accessibility needs who would like to attend this workshop – please message sofia.misenheimer@mail.mcgill.ca for more information) 

Our goal is to explore the complexity and challenges that come with seeking help, disclosing, responding and writing policies in response to sexual aggression. Discussions following the workshop will facilitate an expansion of awareness about rape culture and gendered & sexual violence, exploring the space between what rape culture is perceived to be versus what it is day-to-day. This piece will be of interest to students, teachers, staff and administration and individuals writing policy.

Facilitators: Charlotte Di Berardo, Peter Shaw, Anne-Marie St-Louis, and Brittany Sweet

*

2 - 4 PM - Picturing Consent: A Photovoice Workshop

Education Building, 3700 McTavish, 1st floor (accessible)

This workshop will explore the concept of consent in an academic contexts and university campuses. The audience will use their hands to make symbols and gestures of "consent." They will take pictures using a digital camera, print the photo on site and write a small caption on the meaning of the picture. The pictures will be displayed in the space to show the different meanings of consent and sexual-gender-based violence within an academic context, and will be exhibited in the Art Hive during the event.

Facilitator: Milka Nyariro, McGill Art Hive Initiative

*

2 - 4 PM - Hands-on, Hands-off: A Textile Workshop

Education Building, 3700 McTavish, 1st floor  (accessible)

As human beings, we rely on our hands for mostly everything we do. We use them as tools to explore the world and transform it, and to connect with each other. This workshop focuses on our hands’ creative and caring potential, but also intends to create awareness about their damaging power. Hands-on, Hands-off encourages participants to share their experiences, thoughts and needs, and invites them to listen, understand and respect those of others. In a safe and supportive environment, participants are invited to use their hands to transform fabric gloves to represent experiences related to gender-based violence that may be hard to express in words. The gloves will be creatively transformed to address and understand gender-based sexual violence and rape culture on campuses, allowing our bodies to become sites for healing, resistance, communication, and commemoration.

Facilitator: Maria Ezcurra, McGill Art Hive Initiative Facilitator

*

3 - 4:30 PM - Bodily, Walking Into the Woods

Lobby of the Education Building, 3700 McTavish

Walking is as mundane an activity as it can be challenging. For those of us who have experienced any kind of (bodily/psychological) trauma or live with any variety of anxiety disorder or depression, something as simple as "walking" (i.e.: putting oneself in the public sphere to get from point A to point B) may not be a source of respite or mental relaxation, rather, a space of confrontation (oneself with one's thoughts; oneself with the world). Bodily, Walking Into the Woods proposes a silent, meditative and collective foray onto the path in the grand park that is Mount-Royal. The act of collectively creating a container for this everyday action may hopefully offer even the smallest moment of respite as we walk together, in solidarity (even if in silence), sharing a moment of quietude and natural beauty. 2. Walking is as mundane an activity as it is profound. Not only does it allow a moment of being with our thoughts - a precious time to process events (big and small) - it also opens a space for breath and time for decompression. Or to leave thoughts behind. In this interval-like activity, I have experience some of my most cherished moments of simple joy. Living with chronic low grade depression, I have also noticed how walking, as a practice, has acted like a reset button over and over again. Something about the body connecting with breath, sky, and ground (simultaneously) has repeatedly cleared the cobwebs, making wellness seem like an actual and attainable possibility. 3. When we walk in a place, over and over, that place becomes ours. It recalls our experiences as we rewrite them onto these paths. Walking as reclamation of (public) space.

Facilitator: Victoria Stanton

*

TBA - Film screening of "Cold Hands"

TBA

A student-made film by Eric Bizzarri that tells the story of the protagonist Lucas, who in an effort to make friends in high school finds himself in a position that compromises his safety. In the aftermath, he realizes that the support he seeks is not guaranteed.

Facilitators: Bianca Tetrrault & Aliya Nowaczynski

*

3 - 5 PM - Safety Strategies Workshop

Leacock 738 (accessible)

Using large maps of campus and surrounding areas, we will use art to explore our personal experiences of those spaces and discuss accessibility, equity, and safety at McGill. This workshop is an opportunity to celebrate your favorite spaces to hang out and to share with others, or to talk about how you navigate struggles and use safety strategies to get around these spaces. Safety strategies are any tools, resources, or approaches we use in our day-to-day lives to increase feeling of safety (not just physical safety, but comfort, access, ease, etc.) in the spaces around us. The goal of the workshop is to create a personal artwork depicting your unique experience or safety, or lack thereof, on and around campus. With your consent, artwork produced during this workshop will be published as part of a digital art exhibition and zine.

Facilitators: Right to Campus McGill

*

3 - 5 PM - (Re)-CREATE your Visual Narrative: An Experiential Art Therapy Workshop 

Arts B55, The Moving Image Resource Lab (accessible via theatre elevator; volunteers are on standby to provide directions to students with accessibility needs who would like to attend this workshop – please message sofia.misenheimer@mail.mcgill.ca for more information) 

This experiential art therapy workshop will explore how creating and altering images can help to externalize and reorganize the physical and emotional narrative, increase feelings of power, control, and facilitate the positive reintegration of feelings.  Art materials will be provided for use and sharing will be based on each participants comfort level and is not an obligation. This workshop is intended for survivors of gendered & sexual violence, and those interested in experiencing the art therapy process and how it may be useful for healing. 

Facilitators: Marissa Singer (art therapist, MA, ATPQ) & Jessica Gardner (art therapist, MA, ATPQ)

*

6 - 8 PM - How to Respond to Disclosures

Brown Building, Room 5001 (accessible)

This free 2 hour interactive workshop is available to students, faculty, and staff at McGill. During the workshop, participants learn about the prevalence of sexual violence at McGill and in the larger community, and the various impacts that sexual violence can have on individuals. You will learn how to respond to and support people affected by sexual violence by using appropriate tools and approaches. Participants will then practice these tools and methods they have learned through group activities and case scenarios. The workshop will also explore key terms and discuss common myths and misconceptions about sexual violence that may affect one's ability to effectively respond to and support disclosures. Participants will also learn about the many different support resources available on campus and in the community.

Facilitator: Bianca Tétrault, Sexual Violence Education Advisor

[growthonthehorizon]

Some of the cards we will be hand-delivering to administrators inviting them to “Growth on the Horizon: A Day of Arts-Based Healing at McGill” on March 22.

[growthonthehorizon]

Preparing our invitations for McGill administrators - each one will be placed on a hand-drawn post-secret card and delivered to their offices 💌 For open exchange to take place around issues of rape culture and gendered violence on campus, we need administrators to be present and engaging with survivors, students, faculty, and staff.

[growthonthehorizon]

[consentmcgill-blog]

Tabling at RVC was so much fun! Here are just a few of the people who came out and told us why they heart consent!

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Check out another great contribution to our “I practice consent by..” photo challenge!

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We’ll be posting participant’s contributions to our photo campaign all throughout the week! Check out Stuart’s from today, where he gives an example of practicing consent in day-to-day life!