GIFs for Social Change

 

 

Join Co-Artistic Director Marianne Matusz and Associate Lead Artist Joanne Tremarco for an online GIF making workshop during our fundraising week.

A GIF is a short video, animated using two or more images – it’s like a digital version of an old style flipbook. Learn how to create attention grabbing graphics for use online to help raise awareness of your cause, support activism, and campaign on important issues.

This fun practical session will give you new creative skills that you can use with basic technology. You will need your mobile phone or tablet, some photos you would like to turn into a GIF and some pens/paper.

The session is offered for free as part of our ‘Arts for Impact’ fundraising week. If you are able to, we ask you to make a donation to our campaign, which will be DOUBLED by The Big Give. Our suggested donation is £20, but please give as little or as much as you can. Every penny will make a difference in supporting our work over the next year.

 

Trauma Informed Practice for Participatory Artists – TRAINING

“Public and professional awareness and understanding of trauma require a social justice movement that recognises and honours survivors”

Judith Herman, feminist psychotherapist, Trauma and Recovery, 2022

Although it’s very important to maintain the distinction between art and therapy, participatory artists are often in positions where they need to support their participants’ mental health. This training is specifically for artists and facilitators and takes a person-centred approach to understanding trauma and incorporating this understanding into your creative practice.

This training will:

  • Unpick popular perceptions and misuse of language around trauma and PTSD;
  • Provide an overview of the physiology of trauma and an insight from the perspective of a clinical psychotherapist;
  • Offer practical tips for creating safe spaces for participants and avoiding practices which may retraumatise participants;
  • Create a space to explore problem solving using real-life scenarios;
  • Explore asset-based approaches to understanding trauma within social justice frameworks.

This event is aimed at artists working in communities, theatre-makers and activists interested in using the arts as a tool for positive change.

Online Event: This training will take place online using Zoom. You will receive an email with the link.

**Please note: we do not record the sessions because of the sensitive nature of the topic.

Length: 3 hours

Ticket Cost:

  • For attendees supported by their organisations the full price of a ticket is £55.00
  • For freelancers and individuals from non-regularly funded organisations attendees the price of a ticket is £35.00
  • For those on low or no income the ticket price is £18.00

We also have a small number of bursary places available for those with limited funds. Email info@collective-encounters.org.uk to request a bursary place.

* *Please Note: Ticket sales will end 24 hours before this event is due to start.

Access: This event will use live transcription. If you require BSL interpretation, please get in touch no later than two weeks before the event. If you have any other access requirements please email info@collective-encounters.org.uk

Trainers:

AIDAN JOLLY is a researcher, performance maker, trainer and musician with more than 25 years’ experience of working with communities in struggle. He works on projects that seek redress for historic and current injustices, and is the Research Lead for Collective Encounters. He is also a PhD candidate at Edge Hill University, looking at radically generative communities of transition. He has worked with survivors of torture, veterans, homeless people, and has personal experience of complex PTSD.

JESS MICHAELSON is a Gestalt Psychotherapist, Supervisor and Trainer with over 20 years’ experience of working with traumatised adults from diverse communities, in particular with refugee survivors of Human Rights abuses. For the last 17 years Jess has been working as a psychotherapist and trainer for Freedom from Torture. Jess also works as a freelance supervisor and trainer offering training on many aspects of therapeutic work which includes working with asylum seekers, working with interpreters and self-care. Jess has a longstanding passion in human rights as well as in the therapist’s journey when developing their work with survivors of human rights abuses.

Jess has written a chapter “Holding hope: the challenge for therapists working with survivors of torture” in Psychological Therapies for Survivors of Torture: A Human Rights approach for people seeking asylum. Boyles, J (ed) 2017.

 

Trauma Informed Practice for Participatory Artists – TRAINING

 

“Public and professional awareness and understanding of trauma require a social justice movement that recognises and honours survivors” Judith Herman, feminist psychotherapist, Trauma and Recovery, 2022

Although it’s very important to maintain the distinction between art and therapy, participatory artists are often in positions where they need to support their participants’ mental health. This training is specifically for artists and facilitators and takes a person-centred approach to understanding trauma and incorporating this understanding into your creative practice.

This training will:

  • Unpick popular perceptions and misuse of language around trauma and PTSD;
  • Provide an overview of the physiology of trauma and an insight from the perspective of a clinical psychotherapist;
  • Offer practical tips for creating safe spaces for participants and avoiding practices which may retraumatise participants;
  • Create a space to explore problem solving using real-life scenarios;
  • Explore asset-based approaches to understanding trauma within social justice frameworks.

This event is aimed at artists working in communities, theatre-makers and activists interested in using the arts as a tool for positive change.

Online Event: This training will take place online using Zoom. You will receive an email with the link.

**Please note: we do not record the sessions because of the sensitive nature of the topic.

Length: 3 hours

Ticket Cost:

  • For attendees supported by their organisations the full price of a ticket is £55.00
  • For freelancers and individuals from non-regularly funded organisations attendees the price of a ticket is £35.00
  • For those on low or no income the ticket price is £18.00

We also have a small number of bursary places available for those with limited funds. Email info@collective-encounters.org.uk to request a bursary place.

* *Please Note: Ticket sales will end 24 hours before this event is due to start.

Access: This event will use live transcription. If you require BSL interpretation, please get in touch no later than two weeks before the event. If you have any other access requirements please email info@collective-encounters.org.uk

Trainers:

AIDAN JOLLY is a researcher, performance maker, trainer and musician with more than 25 years’ experience of working with communities in struggle. He works on projects that seek redress for historic and current injustices, and is the Research Lead for Collective Encounters. He is also a PhD candidate at Edge Hill University, looking at radically generative communities of transition. He has worked with survivors of torture, veterans, homeless people, and has personal experience of complex PTSD.

JESS MICHAELSON is a Gestalt Psychotherapist, Supervisor and Trainer with over 20 years’ experience of working with traumatised adults from diverse communities, in particular with refugee survivors of Human Rights abuses. For the last 17 years Jess has been working as a psychotherapist and trainer for Freedom from Torture. Jess also works as a freelance supervisor and trainer offering training on many aspects of therapeutic work which includes working with asylum seekers, working with interpreters and self-care. Jess has a longstanding passion in human rights as well as in the therapist’s journey when developing their work with survivors of human rights abuses.

Jess has written a chapter “Holding hope: the challenge for therapists working with survivors of torture” in Psychological Therapies for Survivors of Torture: A Human Rights approach for people seeking asylum. Boyles, J (ed) 2017.

Feedback from previous attendees:

“It opened my eyes to the volume of individuals we walk past i life who have and are experiencing trauma and how this needs to be recognised in the creative environments we foster”

” This training gave me the access or entry-point into an informed framework for a trauma informed practice. I could really feel the benefit of lots of people’s wisdom and experience!”

“Full of practical solutions and thinking about approaches for our practice”

 

 

 

Print for Beginners

This weekend course is a perfect taster session into 3 areas of printmaking; Planographic, Relief and Intaglio printmaking.

You’ll learn the basics of all 3 processes, using monoprint, linoblock printing and drypoint etching to create your own mini portfolio of prints.

The course is designed for beginners who would like an introduction to printmaking and those who would like a taster of different printmaking techniques before committing to a day course. It’s also great for creating work for a portfolio!

The course schedule is as follows:Saturday: Introduction, Monoprint taster session & introduction to Linoblock and carving.Sunday: Linoblock printing & Drypoint Etching taster session.

£150 (for 2 sessions, all materials included)

Liverpool Philharmonic Music Industry Careers Fest 2026

 

Our annual music industry careers day is back – bigger and better than ever in 2026!  

Sponsored by Sentric, in partnership with AdLib, LIPA, UK Music, PLASA and PPL

Want to kickstart your career in music? We’ve got everything you need.

Hear from Liverpool legends Guy Chambers (songwriter to stars including Robbie Williams, Tina Turner, Diana Ross and Mark Ronson) and Natasha Hamilton, who topped the charts with pop group Atomic Kitten and has since founded Morpho Records. 

The largest music careers event in the North West returns, with industry powerhouses ready to share their vast experience and how they got to where they are.

Sponsored by Sentric, this year’s event also features BBC, UK Music, PPL, Spotify UK, Universal Music, Small Green Shoots, PLASA and Adlib, who will be on hand, sharing advice to help you find a path to success in the music industry. There’ll be panel discussions, hands-on workshops and fascinating demonstrations, covering everything you’d want to know about working in music, including: 

  • Music industry myth busting 
  • Building your career as a music creator
  • Building your brand, social media and building your fanbase
  • Music distribution and getting your music heard
  • Music broadcasting 
  • Working in Artist Development
  • AdLib music tech showcase 
  • How to stay healthy, creative and sustainable in Music

​So whether you’re looking for advice and inspiration, or ready to take the first step and launch your career, you’ll find it all here.

Music Careers Marketplace

We’ll be hosting our Music Careers Marketplace, where attendees will have the opportunity to chat to representatives from leading music organisations and employers. The Music Careers Marketplace will be specially tailored across the morning and afternoon sessions, but organisations and employers such as BBC, Help Musicians, Future Yard, Glyndebourne Academy, JAMES, LIPA Music Mark, Musician’s Union, PPL, RNCM, UK Music & Discover! Creative Careers, Young Sounds UKCity of Liverpool College, Edge Hill University, LMA, SAE & ICMP, DITTO and The Creative Well will be in attendance throughout the day.

 

Alison Spittle

 

Age guidance 14+Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

Following an award winning sold-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe, Alison Spittle is touring “her finest show to date” (The Scotsman).

A man told Alison to sit down and now she’s doing a whole stand up show about it. After an encounter on a train with a man triggers a series of events that change Alison’s life, she ponders if it’s easier to change herself than the world around her. This is a big show about making yourself smaller.

Alison has made appearances on House of Games, Celebrity Goggle Box and Pointless Celebrities, and on the popular podcasts Off Menu, The Gargle and Trusty Hogs. She is the co-host of the new podcast Magazine Party, and has also co-hosted Wheel of Misfortune and Guilty Feminist. You may have also seen Alison as the support act for Fern Brady, Rob Delaney and Maria Bamford on tour.

 

Here We Go Gathering Cups in May

 

Spend an evening in the company of Reds legends Phil Thompson, Alan Kennedy and Jimmy Case, presented by Peter McDowall and featuring singing narrator Marc Kenny alongside esteemed fans from every era of LFC greatness.

The story of Liverpool in Europe, from Shankly to Klopp, St Etienne, trains to Rome, on the wine in Gay Paree to jelly legs in Rome, that Night in Istanbul and Divock in Madrid, when the Reds go Gathering Cups in May the fans go gathering stories and songs. Our finest stories from days on the ale in Europe, all told in one night. Here We Go Gathering Cups in May.

 

Visual Vernacular Workshop with Zoë McWhinney

10:30am – 5pm

Join one of the UK’s leading Visual Vernacular (VV) performers, Zoë McWhinney, for an immersive full-day workshop exploring the power of visual storytelling.

Visual Vernacular blends sign language, mime and gesture to create cinematic narratives that captivate Deaf and hearing audiences alike. Through precise use of facial expression, body movement and spatial awareness, VV performers sculpt entire worlds in the air — shifting seamlessly between characters, objects and environments. Stories can zoom in and out, slow down or speed up, and unfold like films projected directly into the audience’s imagination.

In this workshop, participants will:

Explore the foundations of Visual Vernacular storytelling

Learn how to create clear visual narratives using gesture, facial expression and body positioning

Experiment with role shifting, scale, perspective and rhythm

Develop confidence in creating vivid “long shots” and “close-ups”

Gain insight into how VV can be used in performance, poetry and theatre.

The day will be practical, playful and creative, suitable for performers, poets, signers and anyone interested in visual storytelling.

About Zoë McWhinney

Zoë McWhinney (She/They) is a BSL poet and Visual Vernacular performer based in South East London. Born to a Deaf Northern Irish father and a Belgian-Finnish CODA mother, Zoë grew up deeply immersed in Deaf culture alongside her three Deaf/HoH brothers.

Zoë has performed at major venues including The Roundhouse, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse and The Barbican, and made history as the first Deaf and BSL poet published in British Sign Language by Modern Poetry and Translation magazine. Their work has been shortlisted for the Forward Prizes for Poetry 2025 – Best Single Poem (Performed). Zoë’s BSL poetry performance of Dot Miles’ classic poem The Staircase (available for free online at LumoTV) showcases their exceptional ability to create rich, cinematic storytelling using elements of VV in her BSL.

They served as British Deaf Association BSL Poet Laureate for 2023–24 and 2025–26, and leads workshops for the Deaf community in range of settings from afternoon teas to and Deafinitely Youth Theatre and academic institutions such as the Royal Central School and The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Known internationally as her Instagram alter-ego “rapuznel,” she shares her art as a Visual Vernacular (VV) performer in various shows and competitions online and offline. She has been invited to perform her sign language poetry around the globe from Oslo, Norway; Piran, Slovenia and the United Nations headquarters in Geneva to Osaka in Japan.

photography:

Stephen Iliffe

Deaf Mosaic
deaf-mosaic.com

Collective Encounters Open Day

 

Drop in any time between 11am and 2pm to meet our staff and participants, explore some of our recent work, and get involved in fun activities led by our members, to help raise money for our work over the coming year.

This is a great chance to find out more about what Collective Encounters does and how you can get involved.

The event is completely free to attend and there is no need to book. If you would like to make an online donation during the event, it will be DOUBLED as part of the Big Give’s Arts for Impact campaign.

 

Wellington Yard Open Day

 

Join us as residents open the yard to visitors. Open studios from Olive Can Fly stained glass, RMo Pottery Studio, Fibres woodworking co-operative, plus challenges by on-site powerlifting gym, Essential Strength, and excellent pies by Piesmiths. Pop-ups by Bold As Brass Tattoo studio and Mary Mary Florals.Dereks and Bold Street Coffee will also be joining us on site, bringing sandwiches and coffee.Entry is free. All are welcome.Mostly step free access but access to the lift to the studios on the first floor are via a small set of stairs.See socials for more information:@wellingtonyard@olivecanfly@rmostudio@fibres_workshop@essentialstrengthgym@piesmiths

Wellington YardAccessible from Picton Road or Wellington RoadLiverpoolL15 4JN