Firepit Feels: Inhabiting Uncertainty on the Canvas - A painting workshop

WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT?

We live in uncertain times. Rather than resisting uncertainty, how can we develop a creative relationship with it - one that allows for discovery and connection.

Josie Alexandra will introduce participants to painting processes from their own practice. This workshop is for all levels. From beginners just wanting to make a start, to experienced painters looking to break out of familiar patterns. This is an opportunity to let go of rigid expectations, build trust in process, and experience painting as an open-ended conversation & way of thinking.

Through guided exercises, participants will experiment with methods that support us to embrace conscious presence with our surroundings, our own ways of moving through space, which in turn allows us to navigate unpredictability in creativity - allowing line, form, texture, and colour to emerge intuitively. Participants will inhabit practical techniques to utilise the uncertainty of an ‘unknown and unplanned outcome’ as a generative force in creative practice.

This workshop was originally produced in collaboration with Bold Mellon Collective.

About Facilitator Josie Alexandra:

Josie Alexandra (she/they) is a trans-disciplinary artist & producer. As director of Aeaea Studios, Josie produces projects which generate narratives of complexity and multidimensionality: informed by a fascination with intra-personal relationality as sites for reclamation and transformation during our civilisational crisis.

In 2019 Josie completed a Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours) at the VCA, (University of Melbourne) since then, they have gone on to complete multiple bodies of work and continue to receive funding by federal, state and philanthropic sources.

In 2024 Samantha Littley, curator of Australian Art at QAGOMA, selected Josie’s cinematic-sonic work, Compass in Hand, as the Overall Winner in ‘the churchie’ emerging art prize.

Josie co-produced & co-curated group exhibitions in collaboration with Bold Mellon Artist Collective, including ‘POWER IN FLUIDITY’ at Finsbury Park Picturehouse (2024) and Exhibit P* at Firepit Art Gallery and Studios C.I.C (2025)

Alongside working on a new body of paintings & cinematic work, Josie is currently producing a few short films: Nun-Fluences (written by Monique Eleanor and Gabrielle Finnegan), Five Kitchen (written by Ari Kozna Katsivelakis).

Please note, our workshops remain open to all but hold a specific focus on LGBTQIA+, Global Majority and Neurodiverse communities from disadvantaged backgrounds, so please be aware and respectful of this when booking and attending.

These sessions have been designed with neurodiversity in mind and with a trauma-informed approach.

All sessions are relaxed, sensory aids will be available and a designated welfare volunteer will be present.

If you have any access requirements you would like to discuss with us in advance, please let us know and we can make provisions ahead of time if possible.

Please also note that the ‘Firepit Feels’ workshops are not a substitute for therapy but are creative, therapeutic tools.

Each workshop is pay-what-you-can, meaning, you can attend for free. Please be mindful when booking, and notify us at least 72hrs before the workshop date if you are no longer able to attend so we can give someone else the spot. Anything you do choose to donate will be channeled straight back into the community project.

This project has been generously funded by Greenwich Healthier Communities

The nearest tube is North Greenwich on the Jubilee line. We are a 5 minute walk

from the tube station, and we are located right by the Thames Clipper boat pier. You

can also find us on google maps - search for Firepit Art Gallery & Studios.

If you have any questions in advance, regarding this event, please feel free to

contact: info@firepit.art

If you want to stay updated on the events and workshops we have at the Firepit;

Please sign up for our monthly newsletter: Newsletter Sign Up

You can also find directions on our instagram page: Firepit Instagram Page

All Firepit links and info can be found here: Firepit Linktree

We are a Community Interest Company (CIC) & we run as a not-for-profit. In our space we have a beautiful art gallery and artists studios. We run many workshops and events, for both our local community and the general public.

As a CIC, we are committed to reinvesting our profits back into the community, ensuring sustainable and lasting impact. Join us in building a healthier, more vibrant neighbourhood, where the power of creativity becomes a catalyst for positive transformation and well-being for all.