Condolences: Letters for the End of the World was a workshop/intervention/performance held at Hamilton Artists' Inc in July 2020. 

I had been sending in the proposal to several places throughout 2019. However, the first successful iteration of it was during the Pause of 2020: a combination of timing, luck and open programming availability. I don't know if I will hold this publicly again. It seems a bit too on-the-nose for the world as it stands right now.

Having said that, you are welcome to work through the material at your own pace using the < Workshop Guide > written for at-home participants + I periodically check condolences.zine@gmail.com for submissions.

You can scroll down to find the event description & images used for the workshop.  

The images in red/pink are part of a stand-alone illustration project; they were used here because they fit in well with the workshop & they're figuring out how they fit into my (constantly evolving) practice as a whole. + I hope to make the Guide a bit more accessible for the web at some point in the future.

Learning a lot about facilitation & programming these days, which I'm grateful for.

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Dear Friend,

The world is ending today. And I’m sure I’ve told you before, but I need to make sure you remember: I love you. I have loved you for a long time, and for short periods too; in sickness, in health, in underpaid customer service jobs, in times of abundant brunch money, at 1am behind the bar, and over 2pm calls discussing heartbreak. There are times we’ve hurt each other, times we did not approve, but I still love you and hope you love me too.

***

Condolences is a two-part workshop/intervention/performance. As we become more and more anxious, waking up at odd hours about strange fears, we invite you to a space to share your thoughts, feelings, anxieties and stories, as we grapple with the end of the world as we know it.

Brings your joys, bring your sorrows. Your solutions, your grief, your what-ifs and why-nots. Bring your friends, your lovers. Invite your enemies too, if you can get a hold of them.

Sharing both our GRAND PLANS and small hopes, this workshop will culminate in a letter, to anyone (or everyone, or no one) about the end of the world, and whatever you’d like to say about it. These will be compiled into a small document, meant for sharing, either anonymously, or with a pen-name (or not).

Inspired, very deeply, by conversations with close friends. And informed by many (many) panic attacks. 

Condolences is free to attend, but spots are limited! To register, please email Programming Director, Abedar Kamgari, at programming@theinc.ca. You must be available to attend both workshop sessions on July 23 and 30. You can also follow along on your own by using Tee’s illustrated guide, available as a pdf here.

Note: This workshop was initially planned for a pre-pandemic timeline. It has since been rearranged to be a place to examine our own stories more closely, as well as talk about strategies about letter-writing in response to state brutality. By no means a comprehensive guide, it will explore these topics because they are important to learn about. The personal is political.