K'jipuktuk/Halifax - press 2018 [details for immediate release and circulation]

Willow Cioppa

February 2018 / Khyber Residency External Action Miracle

Willow Cioppa is a Zimbabwean-Italian artist based in Montreal QC. Their work investigates the intersections of queerness, sexuality, poverty, blackness, and femininity. They are currently earning their BFA at Concordia University with a major in Art History and Film Studies with a minor in Sexuality Studies. Their practice of African witchcraft heavily influences their art, which they use as a form of ritual in their magic. You can follow their work and life on Instagram: @willotioti

"My residency focuses on the investigation of care among marginalized populations, visualized through a poetry comic book. Through this residency, my aim is to articulate how different intersections of oppression force individuals to not only nurture themselves but nurture those around them in a profound and engaging way as a radical form of protest. As a Black femme person, existing within the intersections and nuances of queerness, sexual pleasure, sex work, and trauma, I have experienced various forms of violence and aggression. These aggressions have pushed me to focus on the healing of my communities’ trauma and accountability to the empowerment of those I love. Poetry, illustration, and painting have always been mediums closest to my heart, therefore I look forward to using my time at the Khyber to share what I’ve learned about care in the ways I know best."

This residency and series of public engagement opportunities is part of the 2017-18 KREAM program. All programming will take place at the Khyber Centre for the Arts, see map, see access notes, see list of all events below.

Residency: February 19th - 24th 2018

Studio visits can be made by appointment, through willow.cioppa@mail.concordia.ca

An Intimate Evening of Poetry with Willow Cioppa
6-8PM on Friday February 23, 2018

Willow Cioppa’s current body of poetic work discusses sex, intimacy, love, trauma, and community. They will share poems both written throughout their residency, as well as past works written over the past year.

A Workshop on Collective Care among Marginalized Communities
2-4PM on Saturday February 24, 2018

This workshop will investigate the intricacies of trauma as they relate to community experiences. How do individuals heal from traumatic experiences, and how does this healing correlate to that of the collective experience of intimate groups? Using the artist’s own personal intersections (Blackness, queerness, femme identity, and experiences with sex work), Cioppa will discuss how individuals and communities can support themselves and each other in a current social climate of pain, anxiety, and uncertainty.

To register for this workshop, please contact info@khyber.ca