From Isolation to Inspiration: The Arts House Goes Online With Write From Home Workshops2 min read

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As the arts world shifts towards the digital during this time of social distancing, The Arts House looks to connect writers remotely but intimately through a series of writing workshops collectively known as Write From Home Workshops beginning on 9 May. Playing on the concept of “work from home” which has become the new normal, seasoned local authors Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé, Gwee Li Sui, and Melissa De Silva will each lead workshops exploring writing as a medium to grapple with the unusual, uncomfortable, and difficult experience of social isolation while creating a shared space for writers to connect.  

While societies around the world find new ways to navigate the need for social contact and sense of community, poet and fictionist Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé kickstarts this series with Creativity Under Constraint: Finding Peace in Isolation. Explore how the experience of isolation can be confounding yet comforting in its ubiquity as other writers share the struggles they face in solitude. No stranger to writing about difficult subjects, join Kon as he demonstrates how challenging situations can be translated into powerful writing. 

As a respite to the disenchanting reality around us, the need for humour is now more apparent than ever. In Funny Not Funny: Writing Humour, take your writing on a comedic spin as poet, graphic artist, and literary critic Gwee Li Sui breaks down the basics of writing a gag. Come armed with a ready pen and a quick wit in this session as you spread laughter in the way that it should—with others. 

Lastly, Singapore Literature Prize-Winning author Melissa De Silva brings us a three-session workshop that invites us to connect with others and, most importantly, ourselves. Step Inside: Documenting Our Interior Journey in an Unusual Time dares writers to introspect and embrace the complicated emotions that come with trying to make sense of these strange circumstances. Exploring the topics of ‘dark’ emotions, unexpected experiences, and adaptation and resilience, join De Silva and other writers over the month of May as navigators of this unusual time. 

Event Details: Write From Home Workshops 
Venue: Online via Zoom 
Dates: 9, 14, and 23 May 2020 
Time: Selected Timings 

Each workshop session runs for 2 hours and will be hosted on the video-conferencing platform, Zoom. All workshops are ticketed at either $10 or $20. Get more information about this event here!