Join multidisciplinary artist and creative writer, Hanan Hazime, for an online poetry workshop and art installation. Instead of psychiatric medicine, participants  of “The Mad Poetry Apothecary” will be prescribed creative prompts that encourage mental wellness. Participants will be guided through the creation of mixed-media poetry postcards and given the opportunity to virtually showcase their work. Those who would like to participate in the virtual art installation but cannot attend the online workshops have the option of submitting their poetry postcard via email. All levels of writing and artistic skills are welcome. Folks with lived experience of mental health and/or addiction issues are highly encouraged to contribute their voices to this project.

Click here to view the virtual Mad Poetry installation.

Hanan Hazime is a multidisciplinary artist, creative writer, community arts educator and writing instructor living in Tkaronto/Toronto. She also identifies as a Lebanese-Canadian Muslimah Feminist and Mad Pride Activist. Through her intersectional and interdisciplinary artwork, Hanan aims to push boundaries, question arbitrary binaries, dispel stigmas and shatter stereotypes. Her primary mission as an arts educator is to provide accessible arts education to marginalized communities with a special focus on crafting safe, empowered spaces for Muslims, individuals with mental health challenges, folks with disabilities and BIPOC youth to discover and enhance their writing and art skills.

Breathe expresses a journey from spark to growth to breakdown to acceptance. The piece includes a mix of Breakin’, Popping and House dance styles with a focus on Breakin’. This piece is inspired by Breakin’ culture, the artist’s power-infused dance style and his experience battling with anxiety. Breathe is a journey into the height of success and the depth of anxiety. We live in a world filled with high expectations from self and others. Breathe lets audiences know that it’s okay not to feel okay. Breathe highlights Breakin’ as an art form with depth, character and history stemming from the roots of lived experience. Accepting who we are. One day at a time. One breath after another. BREATHE.

Michael ‘Piecez’ Prosserman has been Breakin’ since 1999. Piecez has taught, competed, judged and performed for hundreds of audiences from Asia to Europe to the Canadian Arctic. By high school, he was accepted into Cirque Du Soleil and featured in the motion picture Honey. Piecez is the founder of a grassroots movement that uses hip hop to improve youth mental health called Unity Charity. Piecez is a best-selling author of the new book Building Unity, a university instructor and a mental health advocate. In his solo Breathe, Piecez shares his experiences with mental illness in a leadership role.

CONTENT WARNINGS

Strobe Light

Michael ‘Piecez’ Prosserman and guests will be participating in two virtual Q&A’s:

Saturday, October 17, 8 PM
“Breathe: a dance production + conversation on Mental Health + Community” 

Wednesday, October 21, 6 PM
“Breathe: a dance production + conversation on Mental Health + Work” 

Prose In Therapy is a convergence of free form poetics and imitated therapy. This work is meant to break down the formality of medical procedures through the use of atypical document format aesthetics. The intimate and thought-provoking language used is accompanied by somewhat childish drawings that play on the somatic realities of mortality. Prose In Therapy addresses the delicate situation of being a patient in mental health recovery while verging into themes of honesty, sexuality and economic frustration. The cartoon drawings found on each page of Prose In Therapy were made in collaboration with local sketch artist Michael Vuong. These poems were all read to audiences at Toronto open-mic events including local venues Shab-e She’r and Art Bar.

Moncef Mounir was born in Rabat, Morocco. He is a poet, visual artist and the director of Quaker Kid Productions (QKP), a print media outfit with various collaborative chapbook and zine works. He has spent a decade as a skilled labourer across the City of Toronto and works as a legal assistant after receiving his P1 paralegal’s license. Moncef operates 20scene.com, a blog-style venue to expose his live music editorial zines while also releasing QKP print media works. Moncef has spent over 7 years in mental health recovery and has 4 years abstinence from drugs and alcohol as of September 2020.

CONTENT WARNING

Mature Language, Sexual Content, Suicide

This artist has an item in the RWM swag bag to go with their piece in the exhibition. All ticket holders will be invited to receive RWM swag bags available for free curbside pickup during festival hours.

Images of the Prose in Therapy installation in Re:Building Resilience:

Photos by Henry Chang