February 2018–April 2018
In this moment of of high-anxiety, it seems like everyone is talking about self care. In a society where women and femmes struggle under the weight of sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and classism—and are still expected to selflessly care for others—self care can seem (as Audrey Lorde put it) not a self indulgence but a crucial act of self preservation.
But care doesn’t happen in isolation. In addition to time and money, self care requires support. Care is made possible when we form community.
We rely on others to care for us when we are young, old, sick, sad, needy, and overwhelmed. We can meet each other’s needs in a variety of ways. But we might need more tools for creating support networks, more avenues for getting what we need, and more ways to make it possible to show up for each other, to give and receive support at the same time.
This quarter we’re considering what it means to care, and what it means to be healthy. What are all the ways we care for each other and our communities? And what can we learn from those of us who need care the most? Which assumptions about wellness should we challenge and investigate?
We’ll engage with these questions and many more with the help of artist in residence iris yirei hu, whose work deals with kinship, grieving, and ancestral knowledge.
April
Nothing About Us Without Us Part 2
Dialects of Perception: Centering Disability in Cinema
Monday, April 2, 7:30–9:30pm
Presented by Georgian Badal
$8 Members / $10 Regular
Feminist Reading Group
Tuesday, April 3, 7:30–9:30pm
Presented by Eileen Ybarra & Dawn Finley
Free / RSVP here
Sick Circle
Wednesdays, April 4 & 18, 7–9pm
Facilitated by Katherine Williams
Free / RSVP here
How Feminism Failed
Reproductive Freedom
Monday, April 16, 7:30–9:30pm
Presented by Daena Horner,
Certified Herbalist & Abortion Doula
$8 Members / $10 Regular
Health/Care Film Series:
Unrest (2017)
Thursday, April 19, 7–10pm
Films Shown: Unrest
Presented by Shella Films
Free
LA for Choice Clinic Defense
Volunteer Training
Sunday, April 22, 11am–1:30pm
Presented by LA for Choice
Free / RSVP Required
Remarkable:
Artists with Chronic Illness & Disability
Wednesday, April 25, 7:30–9:30pm
Hosted by Teresa Reilly
Free / RSVP Required
March
Plant Communication & Radical Communion
Friday, March 2, 7–9pm
Presented by Amanda Ackerman & Saewon Oh
$20 Members / $25 Regular
The Failures of Roe v Wade
(How Choice Still Evades Us)
Saturday, March 3, 10am–1pm
Hosted by Daena Horner
$5-10 Suggested Donation
Eight Sections Brocade (Baduanjin)
Mondays, 10:30–11 am
March 5 / March 12 / March 19 / March 26
Presented by Melody Hsieh & iris yirei hu
Free
Feminist Reading Group
Tuesday, March 6, 7:30–9:30pm
Presented by Feminist Reading Group
Free
Health/Care Film Series:
3 Short Films
Thursday, March 8, 7–10pm
Films: The House is Black (Farrokhzad, 1963); In My Language (Baggs, 2007); Voice/Over (Barry, 2007)
Presented by Emma Ben Ayoun
Free
Sick Circle
Wednesdays, March 7 & March 21, 7:30–9:30pm
Hosted by Katherine Williams, L. Ac.
Free, RSVP Required: March 7 / March 21
Healing Through Self-Portrait: A Frida-Inspired Painting Workshop
Friday, March 16, 7:00–9:30pm
Presented by Darlene Valencia
$40 Members / $50 Regular
post-script 2017:
A Reading & Discussion About War Culture,
Chronic Illness, Community & Shore Soup
Saturday, March 17, 2–5pm
Presented by Robyn Hillman-Harrigan
$10-15 Suggested Donation
Representations/Misrepresentations of Illness & Disability
Saturday, March 24, 12pm–2pm
Hosted by LA Spoony Collective
$5 Suggested Donation
February
Health/Care Film Series:
The View From Here
Thursday, February 8, 7–10pm
Film: Silverlake Life: The View From Here (Friedman, 1993)
Presented by Emma Ben Ayoun
Free
Existing On Our Own Terms: Healing Rituals As Liberatory Practice
Saturday, February 24, 2–5pm
Presented by Sade Musa
Free
not her(e): A Workshop
Saturday, February 24, 10am–1pm
Presented by Kaitlynn Redell
Free
Sick Club
Wednesdays, February 7 & 21, 7:30–9:30pm
Facilitated by Katherine Williams & WCCW
Free (RSVP required)
Foundations of Touch
Monday, February 19, 7:30–930pm
Presented by Tin Santos & Bunny Urick
Free
Getting Fed by Your Feed: Curating an Instagram Diet
Wednesday, February 28, 7:30–9:30pm
Presented by Mandy Harris-Williams & #BrownUpYourFeed
$1-10 Sliding Scale Donation
Examples
Performances / Screenings / Readings
Ex: A reading & discussion of “When the Sick Rule the World” by Dodie Bellamy; reading & discussion of “Homeplace (A Site Of Resistance)” by bell hooks; a one-act play; a salon; etc
Creative Workshops
Ex: Autohagiography (A Writing Workshop); No Means NO: A Quilting Workshop; Neighborhood Walk + Draw; etc
Lectures / Discussions
Ex. My Body Is a Prison of Pain (Sick Woman Theory); A Conversation On Disability, Chronic Illness, & Neurodiversity; etc
Working Groups
Work towards a local or national policy; short term projects that benefit our neighborhood, the WCCW community, or the city; research or study around the theme of Health/Care; projects that result in a new WCCW infrastructure. Ex: Small Fries Collective (Paid Family Leave + Universal Childcare); language justice; WCCW carpool system; etc
Skill Shares
Programs that help us to assess & understand existing Health/Care resources. Ex: accessing resources for trans health care; applying for disability; Navigating Public Health and Benefits under Tr*mp; models for neighborhood emergency response; How To Have Hard Conversations; Finding your Voice and Promoting Community; bystander intervention training; rapid response training; etc
Community Projects
Identify or build a network, create a support group, or hold a regular gathering with community. Ex: Parenting As Protest; For Us By Us; Sick Club (support group for chronic illness); How We Organize; etc
Wellness and Self-care Practices / Workshops
Programs that help us develop our sense of personal and collective safety, or that address mental, physical, and emotional health. Ex.: Practicing Collective Care In the Time of Neo Fascism; Yoga for Social Justice; Healing Roots Meditation; etc
Resources
We’re informed & inspired by…
A Manifesto for Ultratranslation
Conflict Is Not Abuse
Emergent Strategy
HEAVN
Homeplace (A Site of Resistance)
How To Talk To Your Kids About White Privilege
The Joyous Body
On Care and Parrhesia
Sick Woman Theory
WNYC’s There Goes the Neighborhood
Our submission form cannot be saved mid-session. Click here to download a PDF version to work from before filling out the online form.