When
Where
Booking
This event has finished, bookings are now closed
Join Inclusive Mosque Initiative for the next event in the Raise Your Gaze series, where we'll be exploring themes of justice, resistance and healing while also celebrating our 5th birthday!
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We know that we must all strive for justice to build a world in which we can all be safe and and free from violence and oppression, and an integral part of this is to make sure that we are healing from our individual and collective trauma. We know that we must actively work towards being physically, emotionally and spiritually nourished so that we can build a better today.
So, join us on Saturday 9 December to celebrate, to be creative, to express joy, and to heal from the many injustices we face in order for us to continue challenging all that tries to oppress us.
We will have a talk, workshops, performances, a bazaar, colouring stations, food, and even a birthday cake. Featuring Soofiya Andry, Amina Khayyam, Momtaza Mehri, Michael Mumisa, and more!
11am - Sheikh Michael Mumisa, 'On Justice'
Sheikh Michael is a PhD candidate and Cambridge Special Livingstone Scholar at Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge. He is author of a number of studies and a regular broadcaster and commentator on radio and other media.
12.30pm - Lunch by Mazi Mas
Mazi Mas menus meld cultures and reimagine tradition, taking you from the windswept rose gardens of Iran to the forested beaches of Costa Rice in the space of a meal. Their cooking is rooted in the kitchens of their mothers and grandmothers, but enlivened by the spirit of collaboration that rules their own.
1.30pm - Workshops
(no experience necessary; book early as spaces are limited)
Soofiya Andry - Zine-making
Soofiya is an illustrator, visual artist and book designer, and their practice provides a commentary on gender, race, politics and bodies through a DIY approach. Their work has been featured in The Guardian, Metro and The Independent, and shown at Tate Modern and Tate Britain, amongst others. Soofiya is currently a regular lecturer at Ravensbourne and the Family Artist-in-Residence at Camden Arts Centre.
Amina Khayyam - Kathak dance
Amina has her own dance company (Amina Khayyam Dance company) through which she creates new and original work incorporating theatre, live art and technology. She is a critically claimed performer gaining accolades for both her classical Kathak work as well as creating original works drawing from current issues, particularly issues that affects and marginalised women from disfranchised backgrounds. Her acclaimed works are A Thousand Faces, Yerma, Laal Shaari, Slut and One.
Momtaza Mehri - Poetry writing
Momtaza is a poet, essayist and literary researcher. Her poetry has been featured in DAZED, Buzzfeed, Vogue, BBC Radio 4, Poetry Society of America and Poetry International. She is a Complete Works Fellow and winner of the 2017 Out-spoken Page Poetry Prize. Her chapbook sugah lump prayer was published in 2017. She also edits Diaspora Drama, a digital platform showcasing international immigrant art.
Circus (children get priority booking!)
The RH Circus Society, based at Royal Holloway, University of London, are a student-run organisation that aim to create a friendly, welcoming space sharing a variety of circus-based skills. They run weekly workshops at the university open to students and non-students alike. The RH Circus Society ran their first circus convention earlier this year, aptly named "The Convention of the Distracted Arts". Their members regularly perform with fire and LEDs in a number of local shows and festivals, as well as running workshops in several events, nationwide. They began in 2014 and have been growing ever since.
The circus performers will teach you how to use juggling balls, hoola hoops and how to play with LED staffs.
2.30pm - Break & music performance
3pm - IMI's 5th birthday cake
4pm - End
Prayer/reflection space will available, and the bazaar selling food, henna, crafts, and toiletries will be free to explore and purchase from throughout the day.
ACCESSIBILITY
If you're not able to pay the ticket price, please get in touch for a free ticket - we still want you to attend!
BSL interpreters will be available on the day.
There will be an induction loop for Sheikh Michael Mumisa's talk. Please let us know in advance if you require one for a workshop, and we can arrange to have this set up.
Sheikh Michael Mumisa's talk will be livestreamed, as well as being recorded and transcribed. The workshops however won't be recorded or livestreamed.
The entire venue is wheelchair accessible, and there are wheelchair accessible bathrooms.
All bathrooms are gender-neutral.
Lunch and refreshments will be vegetarian and vegan.
Children and babies are always welcome.
Please get in touch if you have any other accessibility needs and we will do our best to accommodate.
GETTING THERE
By train
Farringdon Station is 0.3 miles from the Free Word Centre.
It is served by the Thameslink railway line, which runs directly to London Bridge, Elephant and Castle, St Pancras and Kentish Town, as well as routes to Brighton, Sutton, St Albans, Luton and much of North and South London.
The Metropolitan, Circle, and Hammersmith & City tube lines also run from this station.
The station has step-free access but we recommend you contact them ahead of time for ramps on and off the trains if required.
By bus
Buses that stop near Free Word include the 63 on Farringdon Road, the 19, 38 and 341 on Rosebery Avenue and the 55 and 243 on Clerkenwell Road.
By car
There is a NCP car park next to the Centre at 1 Bowling Green Lane. There are 7 disabled bays available, and we recommend you reserve a bay ahead of time.
Free Word Centre does not have any designated parking of its own; however there is a single yellow line on the curb outside the front entrance and so it is possible to pick up and drop off passengers directly outside.
If you have any questions about the event please get in touch at [email protected] or call 020 3189 1185.