This series has come as a response to the need for more mental and spiritual anchoring in a time where social and political landscapes feel uncertain.
The workshop series will host a range of QTIBoC facilitators, kicking off with Jackie Sheppard who will lead a meditation and grounding session using their knowledge in Creative visualisation and Cultural symbolism. The session will begin with an Embodied Acknowledgement of Country – where Jackie will combine creative form & meditation to help participants personalise & deepen their understanding of how they can acknowledge Country with more meaning. The themes of this exercise will then open up into grounding, centring, and expanding our sense of self as a way to intentionally explore reclaiming space and our sense of belonging at an embodied level. Jackie will facilitate this process through the lens of responding to the diasporic experience of dislocation. They will guide a caring and supportive experience that allows participants to safely re-centre & create mindful & conscious awareness to re-align & resituate ourselves back to the present moment of mind, body, time and place.
Hope to see you there!
About the Facilitator:
Jackie (she/her/they) is of the Tagalaka Clan Group, Far North Queensland. She lives and works on Kulin Land, in so-called Victoria.
Jackie is a mixed medium performer, storyteller, and workshop facilitator. Their creations and works are inspired by the multilayered narratives of Sovereign peoples. She attempts to identify and interrogate Ancestral, Inter-generational and meta-physical narratives that are relative to Blak lived experiences. Focusing on the aspects of our Physical, Spiritual and Subconscious bodies, Jackie seeks to shed light in dark places, promoting the opportunity to explore and present story in a way that nurtures the storyteller.
They are studying Somatic Movement Therapy (SMT) and are working towards a reclamation process of Embodied practices by engaging with and remaining curious of decolonial philosophies & practices. Jackie has extensive experience in community engagement and has worked in a diverse range of spaces nationally. Her recent work focuses on cultivating creative well-being spaces within the intersections of Bla(c)k, and People of Colour communities, inclusive of diverse LGBTIQA+ communities.
Who is this for:
Queer, Trans, Intersex and Bla(c)k and/or People of Colour
*Please note the following guidelines:
This is a peer learning environment not designed to replace any form of a therapy session, If you need someone to talk to please contact our Rainbow Door helpline or QLife.
By registering and agreeing to participate in this workshop, you acknowledge and understand the above considerations that are conducive to the workshop’s activities.
Where: Online via Zoom
When: November 30, 2023
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Register for free via Eventbrite
Switchboard Victoria's home office is on the unceded lands of the Yaluk-ut Weelam clan of the Boon Wurrung peoples. We pay our respects to all Elders of yesterday and today and extend those respects to all Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples across this country we know as Australia.
We appreciate Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples as diverse individuals with an ongoing connection to Country, and waters – a custodial right and responsibility that was stolen and remains unceded.
We acknowledge the strength of all Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, particularly Brotherboys and Sistergirls, and those who identify as part of LGBTQIA+ communities. We recognise that First Nations peoples have always had rich, varied understandings and practices concerning sex, sexuality and gender diversity; colonial occupation introduced homophobia and transphobia to a culture that embraces inclusivity.
Our work at Switchboard Victoria takes place locally and nationally on what always was, always will be Aboriginal lands.