The GROUND SERIES Free the Body project continued engaging community through programs during Autumn 2023. We deepened our partnership with partner Wyld Womxn and expanded our activities and reach.
Participants joined in the project's research questions: How to free the body? Where does one find freedom in the body? What are the sensations and relations to free the body?
Free the Body artist Lauren Bright offered an Embodied Freedom workshop on September 23, 2023 as part of the Wyld Womxn exhibition Resurgence at the Desert Art Woman Gallery in Cathedral City, California. Lauren also performed a solo piece as part of this exhibition, further extending the creative exchange and process.
As part of Wyld Womxn programming for the Queer Salon at the Joshua Tree Music Festival in October 2023 with the theme 'Radical Love', Lauren Bright offered a 'Radical Love Wand Making Workshop' and ‘Radical Love & Embodied Freedom Movement Workshop'.
The wand making workshop was really engaging. Participants used locally sourced branches, multi-colored ribbon and metallic colored paint.
People were talking about magic in a way of being intentional. “Do I put my magic in the wand or does it come from creating the wand?" The community aspect came up often: “We’re stronger in our magic when we show up with it, together!”
Donated wands will be installed in the community art altar space in the Free the Body exhibition.
The movement workshop brought up a deeper exploration on gender identity and how people feel the freedom of masculine and feminine energies. Participants offered music they associate with freedom: freedom of expression and freedom of their own bodies.
By hosting workshops and public programs in collaboration with community partners, we can cultivate lasting connections and provide vital resources for those seeking to advocate for abolition, bodily autonomy, healthcare access and human rights.
In offering opportunities for dialogue, education, and activism, we seek to empower individuals with the knowledge and tools to effect positive change both within themselves and within their broader communities.
At the end of each program, volunteers recorded their story about what it means to free the body. These testimonies will be integrated into the Free the Body exhibition.
Contact us to get involved: groundseries@gmail.com
Learn more: https://www.groundseries.org/freethebody
Photos courtesy of Wyld Womxn.