love island dream machines: space for rest, play, somatics & inquiry

quote "queer crip love island" comes from a poem by Fen Kerrison.

we did "How to Find Oneself in a Queer Cuddle Puddle", "touch~friends!! wow! wow!!!", queer xxxtreme sports book club, griefing, politicised somatics, queered spin the bottle, and spent the summer coming up with an anti-carceral harm response system for a local community. now it's time to make new friends in a sweet study group of available bodies who recognise the life-affirminfg power of rest and play in the collapse.

expect a relaxed space with some gentle prompts where we use bodies to research collective and personal questions. mix of somatics, performance, self-consent practices and reflection.

how to prepare:

• please aim to arrive 5-10 minutes before the event official start time if possible.
• please be mindful of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other viral infections that go around to protect all participants and facilitators who might be immunocompromised, disabled or chronically ill.
• please withhold as much as possible (that varies for everyone and their life circumstances) from putting yourself at the risk of infection at least a week prior to this event.
• please do not attend the event if you (or people you've been in close contact with, or people you live with) experience symptoms of COVID-19 or other viral infection.
• please return the ticket or notify the organisers if you are no longer able to attend as tickets are limited – it is rare we get to run this event and we would love for as many people as possible to join the experience.
• we thank you for your solidarity with the Disability Justice struggle and the struggle against isolation and separation of all people; it is the struggle of our times; access is love.

what to bring:

• cosy clothes + layers to adjust;
• socks;
• pillows, cushions, blankets, throws – and other items that will make sitting* and lying on the floor comfortable for you;
• for those who find sitting on the floor difficult we will have chairs to sit down;
• water bottle;
• lunch / snacks, but you can't bring it inside the dance room, should be left in the changing room.

event accessibility

• this is an event for queer people (LGBTQIA++) aged 18+.
• this is a sober event.
• antibacterial wipes, hand sanitising gel and FFP2 NR masks will be provided and are free to use for everyone.
• we will have a 10-min break in the middle but you are encouraged to take small breaks throughout.
• it is not a workshop, nobody will be WORKING or SHOPPING. it is a PLEASURE GARDEN*. pleasure gardens have no endgoal; value non-hierarchical structures; prioritise body, spirit and intuition over western-colonial modes of knowledge production; center the needs of those who are usually pushed to the edge by the white supremacist western colonial capitalist system;
• all activities we offer are an invitation that you are encouraged to decline if that feels best 😎!
• after Carmen Papalia's Open Access manifesto, we define access as people coming together in a temporary, collectively held space and putting trust in each other to respond to each other's needs with support, we hope we can collectively work towards this.

venue accessibility

• the event will take place in LGBTQIA+ wellness studio Silk. Brighton, you can read their detailed access info on their website here.
• the studio where the event will happen has a ramp and can open both doors to allow wheelchair access.
• "whilst our bathroom isn’t big enough to be classed as a disabled bathroom, we have worked to make it as accessible as possible." - you can check pictures and dimensions here.
• no shoes are allowed inside the studio, only socks or barefoot. that does not apply to wheelchair users.

facilitator:

viiiii (they/them) is an enabling & disabled chronically alive trans alien, seeking play, pleasure and overwhelm through the imaginary of decolonial & liberatory facilitation and messy yet life-affirming consent frameworks. they are a griefing friend, queer xxxtreme sports rep, and pleasure gardens wxtch. they've been manifesting accessible spaces for local community since 2017.