Storyteller, Sarah Abusarar will be accenting the exhibit by weaving Palestinian stories of long ago. The Palestinian traditional stories were told by women in the villages. It is a tradition that was passed down from generation to generation. Often the women would tell these stories while engaging in other folk art such as embroidery and weaving. Sometimes they would tell traditional stories and other times the women would share stories from their own lives as they wove. Sarah comes from one such family. She will be sharing stories that would have been told around the fire in her village Dura by her grandmothers and that she continues to tell in diaspora in order to preserve this ancient tradition.

Tea is beyond a beverage. In a tea gathering we engage in a mindful and meditative journey of making, drinking, appreciating, and reflecting with tea.

In this tea gathering, Helen will demonstrate a Chinese tea ritual and serve teas to the participants and attendees. This will serve as context to her piece “Tea by the Apricot Tree” made during the “Way of Weaving” course facilitated by Jana Ghalayini. The tea mat, woven and created into a carry case for a traveling tea set expresses the significance of tea gatherings as a circle of learning and healing through engagement. More information about the piece can be found at the exhibition “The Looms We Resemble”.

The Infernal Grove is an unsystematic structural analysis of drug use, addiction and recovery (and not necessarily in that order). This free online user group is an unstructured meeting where people are encouraged to talk about their relationships with drugs/alcohol and sobriety.

All are welcome. No particular topic, except the ones participants wish to bring to the virtual table. 

User Groups are informal meetings where participants share their experiences and perspectives on drugs/alcohol, addiction/sobriety and everything in between. All are welcome to join the conversation. This month, we’ll open with a short presentation on the sensibilities and principles that have animated our work so far, and how we hope the project will unfold going forward.

Join us for this special edition of User Group as part of the Rendezvous with Madness Festival!

For more information about The Infernal Grove please visit www.theinfernalgrove.com

This interactive, 2-hour virtual workshop offers a space to share what has been arising for us during the festival and explore how this year’s festival theme, Shine ; Together, shows up in our lives.

Shine ; Together as a theme invites us to shine a light on our narratives surrounding mental health, addictions and recovery. Through creative expression we shine a light making room for complexities and nuances; in gathering as a community, we hope to create an alliance by healing together. 

The hosts and co-creators of The Gathering, Katt Topolniski, Ellen Snowball Alys McLeod and Petra Dolman will hold the space and gently guide the conversation.

They will open and close the event with simple somatic embodiment practices to support our presence in the shared space and grounding as we depart.

To celebrate the Canadian premiere of the German film BLUE SKY WHITE CLOUDS at Rendezvous With Madness, join us for an insightful talk about filmmaking featuring accomplished director Astrid Menzel.

The film BLUE SKY WHITE CLOUDS is streaming across Canada from November 6 – 12. You do not have to watch the film before attending the seminar but it is encouraged. The film page is found here Tickets to watch the film online are purchased through a donation of $0 -20. 

SEMINAR – Behind the Scenes Insights on Directing the Award-Winning Documentary BLUE SKY WHITE CLOUDS

Filmmaker Astrid Menzel explores the process of directing a feature film, dissecting her latest documentary BLUE SKY WHITE CLOUDS. Participants of this seminar will walk away with a deeper understanding of various aspects of film direction, production and techniques as well as uncover personal insights about the highs and lows of the process, including:

Topics Covered

• Different aspects and challenges of filming one’s own family.
• How to turn subjective thoughts and struggles into a dramaturgical outline of an intensive and personal documentary.
• The mix of materials and techniques used during the editing of the film.
• Open Q&A

We invite you to participate in a drawing workshop led by artist Logan MacDonald and facilitated by guest-curator Sarah-Tai Black. This workshop is an exercise in quiet tracing and features drawing activities focused on silence and audio-free learning, playing and collaboration.

Pre-registration is not required but recommended. 

Masking with a KN95, N95, or better mask is required in this space. Masks and hand sanitizer are available onsite for visitors and there is an air purifier rated for the room size in use. This is a scent-free environment — we kindly ask that you please refrain from using scented products before visiting.

This 2.5-hour virtual workshop offers a space to share what has been arising for us during the festival and explore how this year’s festival theme, Mind the Gap, shows up in our lives.

Mind The Gap as a theme invites us to examine the systematic “gaps” people with lived experience of mental health and addiction, may fall through. In gathering as a community, we hope to create an alliance by healing together. 

The hosts and facilitators of The Gathering, Katt Topolniski, Ellen Snowball and Alys Sobool, will hold the space and gently guide the conversation. They will also share a brief introduction to somatic healing and facilitate a somatic grounding exercise and an embodied art activity.

About The Gathering 

The Gathering is a co-created, community-led, virtually held space for sharing circle-style conversations that aim to acknowledge we are relational beings who need connection. It is an offering that holds space for weaving our lived experiences, stories, and wisdom to foster desired insights, resources, and awareness in ways that support our individual and collective humanity. Lightly guided and gently held, The Gathering explores what it means to grow in a community.

Co-creators and hosts of The Gathering, Katt Topolniski, Ellen Snowball and Alys Sobool are collaborative and welcome creative collaborations