self checkout is wrapping up its first Pop-Up Workshop Series, in partnership with the All Genders Youth Group at Collingwood Neighbourhood House !
Much of the self checkout process is built around forming slow relationships with local communities to ensure safety and trust in the artistic process. It is very inspiring to us to witness the work that Collingwood Neighbourhood House is doing, and particularly the All Genders Group led by Maxx Sadler, to nurture artistic expression in queer youth.
Between October 2024 and January 2025, self checkout held three workshops in the CNH multi-purpose room during the Wednesday queer/trans and gender-diverse youth group meetings. This workshop series serves as the first step toward the self checkout youth spring break intensive in March 2025, designed for youth who demonstrate a deeper interest in the project.
In November 2024, Lamont aka Fairy Boy facilitated a Horror Drag Exploration. Drag, Filth, Horror, Glamour ! We played with makeup and created scary characters. Thank you to our participants Rio, Baz, Rene and Laura !
In December 2024, Ryan Jackson aka Ry facilitated a Sound Ecosystem workshop.We warmed up our voices together and explored the sound of different objects in the room ! Using a loop pedal, we layered sounds and created a unique track. Thank you to participants Rio, Laura, Rene and Ace !
And finally, in January 2025, Alyssa Favero aka Lyzah facilitated an Intro class to w*acking. We started by learning about the history of the form and watching battle videos. Then, we vibed to the beat, experimented with poses, and connected through collaboration and sharing in cyphers! Thank you to participants Onni, Aaron, Aika and Ayla.
Great turn out for our first time doing a pop-up series !! self checkout pop-up workshop series was presented by Lamont, with the precious support of Dancemakers and ArtStarts in School. It was FREE to participants thanks to the support of community partners : Collingwood Neighborhood House, Peer2Peer Program, Q7 Studios and What Lab Studio.