DIY 2020: Nwando Ebizie – Lucid Kink

Lucid Kink is an intimate online pleasure LAB for disabled queers exploring Kink as an artistic tool for self-care.

This DIY is run in partnership with Metal Peterborough.

About the workshop

An online workshop, over two weekends particularly for artist who are disabled by society to be alone together using the methodologies of Kink as an artistic tool to develop survival strategies of self-care, and explore consent and power structures.  This is a laboratory of self-pleasure for pre-creativity. 

The workshop will be led by artist Nwando Ebizie and facilitated sessions will feature guest workshop leaders Toni Lewis, Wennefer, and Anna Ki.

This workshop will insist that mental health is the priority, particularly for those of us who are already disabled by society and live on the margins of an assumed heteronormative reality. It will explore how Kink can be a tool in the arsenal of survival for those of us who are struggling. Moreover, it recognises that those professionals working in Kink have vital knowledge to share with artists around:

• Emotional Labour, 
• Humour when dealing with the power imbalance of our work partners (power exchange and institutions), 
• Contracts as a way of protecting ourselves, 
• The importance of safety, 
• Consent as an active, ongoing discussion, 
• Social distancing with pleasurable activities (sometimes being 2 meters away can be fun!),
• Creativity (the multiplicity of roads that lead to the same outcome and enjoying the journey to find them), 
• Aftercare (self-care as a standard part of any work activity) – work on oneself and others is more than an optional add-on, but is the true core.

You will be given a clear route into thinking about your own aftercare as an artist – which is super important for working with organisations who do not provide this and other artists who have not understood its importance. You will start to develop a framework for rethinking your working interactions in new terms, helping you make better, safer decisions in the future.

Dates and location

Participants need to be available for all sessions over the two weekends. These will take place on

• Sat 5/Sun 6 December
• Sat 12/ Sun 13 December

Each morning session will be a combination of group conversation, guest presentations, instruction, play and reflection with solo homework tasks set for each afternoon. The sessions will take place in the participant’s homes via digital conferencing. This could be in your bedroom or wherever you feel safe. Social distancing for pleasure!

How to apply

Who is this DIY for? Participants will need to be comfortable working with Kink.  In terms of experience – you need to be able to work with potentially deep subject matter, so some experience in mining your pasts for your art might be useful. This workshop is specifically for Disabled people (including people with mental health issues), and Queer people (you can self-define in any way). We are particularly interested in receiving applications from Women and Trans/Non-Binary People of Colour, and people who do not self-define in any of the ways listed but recognise society’s structural imbalances and are prepared to play a different role to the one their privilege normally denotes. 

Selection of Participants: Selection will be based on how much applicants relate to the ideas of the project and how willing you are to explore kink towards self-care and actualisation. You also need to be aware of the need for after-care and demonstrate that you accept the level of self-responsibility you will need to take during the workshop because the leaders are not there in person. You will be used to providing your own strategies and can demonstrate this as will be a key part of the selection process.

A maximum of 5 participants will be selected to take part. Each participant will receive a bursary to purchase a kink item for play. 

Submit an application using this link, telling us about yourself, your artistic practice, your experience of Kink (even if only curiosity) and why this workshop is of interest to you. Your submission must also demonstrate your personal self-care strategies. 

Video/audio applications are also accepted and should be sent via WeTransfer to [email protected] and [email protected].