Reclaiming Stories, Dismantling Narratives with Nadïne LaFond
Are you stuck on a narrative loop? Trying to quiet the nagging voice in your head? Want to tell yourself a different story? Join us & let's liberate our stories together.
Calling All Yearning for a Different Story
Using elements from mixed-media & found object collage / montage & storytelling, artist Nadïne LaFond will guide comrades through a series of exercises, experiences, & inquiries to help better explore & examine the narratives we tell ourselves, notice where / how they show up / repeat, & dismantle unhelpful narratives so we can tell the stories we need for our collective liberation (from capitalism & White Supremacy & patriarchy & ableism & colonialism & all oppression & tyranny.
In Part One, Tuesday, November 16, 2021 from 11am to 1pm PT / 2pm to 4pm ET, Nadïne leads participants through a series of quick fire exercises that get juices flowing, seeds a space for dreaming, shares a current dominant narrative in her life while participants reflect on their own, and provides space for small group sharing as a way to discover questions to pose over the next week.
Part Two, Tuesday, November 23, 2021 from 11am to 1pm PT / 2pm to 4pm ET, opens with an interactive, collaboratively generated video with a soundscape crafted by Nadïne from Part One. Nadïne then facilitates a process of dismantling narratives & reconvenes small groups to co-create collaged stories of liberation. The workshop ends in Circle reflecting on growth, change, & the process of dismantling & reclaiming.
This highly participatory, engaging workshop series is perfect for anyone of any age who is seeking a way to reclaim their own stories & who needs some dedicated space & time to heal from the damaging narratives told by ourselves (& by others) about ourselves. As Queering Dreams Co-Founder Crystal Mason put it, “We may not choose what we’re being fed, but we can choose what we swallow.” Let artist Nadïne LaFond help guide you in community with others in choosing what we swallow & reclaiming our stories.
NOTE 1: This workshop works best with your own art practice, whatever that may be. Nadïne will be giving creative prompts & general instructions that can be responded to through words, sounds, images, movements, diagrams, anything really. The practice of collage / montage is a process of editing & remixing material. That material can be anything. You know best your own materials, processes, supplies, & equipment. Please come with whatever you need / want / desire to create with. One specific request is some way to document / record & share your material. More specific instructions regarding this will be shared in a Welcome Email.
NOTE 2: An art project will be assigned between Part One & Part Two. The project itself will be adaptable & will have a minimum requirement of sending in a specific image / documentation that will be used during Part Two. This project is a key component of Nadïne's workshop & completing it is critical to the success of the collective experience of the workshop. We also understand that life happens & unexpected events occur & we will find ways to make accommodations as needed.
Nadine Shares Insights about Reclaiming Stories, Dismantling Narratives
Artist Nadïne LaFond sits down with Crystal Mason & Jason Wyman to talk about the power of reclaiming stories and dismantling narratives.
Crystal Mason & Jason Wyman Join Nadïne LaFond in Her Studio
On Sunday, November 7, 2021, Co-Founders Crystal Mason & Jason Wyman joined Queering Dreams Co-Creator & Artist Nadïne LaFond in her studio to chat about the upcoming workshop and how Queering Dreams helped shape the development of it.
Nadïne LaFond
I'm working to achieve balance through the creative process, which is my service to the collective as a vocalist, songwriter and bandleader as well as a painter / mixed media and found objects artist. Over the years, I’ve found that each inspires the other. Both practices draw energy from the various cultures in and around which I grew up, creativity from all over the world, Nature and dreams. As a teaching artist, I use what I learn from my creative process to share important resources with community, especially to reveal the constructs and systems keeping us in constant separation. Family, both the ones we’re born into and those we create, is vital for me. I experience spirituality as the story of Life and tend to connect through the planet. My personal collective and comrades tend to be fellow artists who are fueled by a vision to be of service through our creative work. My artist statement is simply this: Making art for me starts with moments that immediately strike me as lessons. When the underlying tale begins to emerge, I follow that energy.
Queering Dreams November Events
