The Writing Workshop
A Detail from a Collaborative Writing Project via 'the post', ongoing.
The Writing Workshop has been running since summer 2007, founded by Jessica Foley & Jessamyn Fiore. Participants in The Writing Workshop are invited to discuss and share ideas, writing, imagery and research. Each member is invited to ‘host’ a workshop, setting a theme or action for the evening, framing discussion, inviting participation, developing ideas & potentially generating writing exercises or projects.
The Writing Workshop has been meeting on a bi-weekly basis at thisisnotashop every second tuesday. However since the closure of thisisnotashop’s gallery space in Dublin, The Writing Workshop has become a virtual entity. Subsequently, workshops happen on a spontaneous and highly irregular basis currently ( See contact details below if you’d like to get involved).
As well as bi-weekly meetings, The Writing Workshop has engaged in Retreat, whereby its members pull out of the City to some other part of the country for a weekend. The first Writing Workshop Retreat took place at Roundwood House, Co. Laois. Over the course of the weekend, members explored the grounds & history of Roundwood House, engaging the owners in conversation & walking the terrain of the House & grounds. Within the retreat members are encouraged to take personal time, to generate writing & cultivate ideas that have been neglected, or have simply not had the time to grow. Scheduled meetings take place over the weekend, as well as meal times, and during these semi-formal sessions members have the opportunity to share thoughts, and to gain feedback from their peers. There is no pressure upon any member to speak or to share, but listening & respect form an essential part of the workings of the retreat, and the workshops. All members are expected to respect the privacy & the autonomy of their peers & their work, and so whatever happens on Retreat “stays on Retreat” so-to-speak (same goes for ordinary workshops).
The Coach House at Roundwood House.
During the Retreat to Roundwood House a site specific audio exercise was choreographed by Foley & Fiore, whereby each other member was assigned a room within the house, a monitor & headphones. On the top floor, Foley & Fiore, along with the owner of Roundwood, generated sounds, and read from texts found within the house. The members were invited to listen to the live audio and to respond through writing.
We hope to host further ‘Retreats’ in the future. Each Retreat will aim to incorporate some kind of group writing experience, and will be organised by the members in association with the location of the Retreat itself. Site-specific writing, as well as personal time to develop existing work, is a key function of The Writing Workshop Retreat.
In the space of 3 years, The Writing Workshop has had 2 annual exhibitions within thisisnotashop, and it’s members have exhibited work in P.S.1 New York and in the TATE Modern. Most recently The Writing Workshop NYC has been established, led by Jessamyn Fiore & Audrey Kobyashi.
For more information go to www.thewritingworkshop.wordpress.com or contact me at jessica.dylan.foley at gmail.com