12 August, 2025, Auto Italia, London, 6–8PM.
2024, Ariel Collier. Courtesy the artist.

Join us on Tuesday 12th August, 6–8PM for Unlearning Alienation: What Does Community Mean in Practice, Unironically with Ariel Collier.

In this collaborative workshop, Ariel will explore the creation of heartfelt and inclusive spaces through a presentation and group discussion.

She’ll reflect on the meaning of alienation, the irony embedded in ‘safe space’ language, and her approach to curating intimate gatherings and expressions. Ariel will share poems from her collection Messy alongside selected photographs and collages as ‘evidence’ of hearts touching.

Participants will be invited to respond creatively, writing about their most intimate or tumultuous moments with friends, lovers, and community. The session will end with a collective writing exercise, where lines from these reflections will be gathered into a shared manifesto on what it means to connect authentically, despite contradiction, conflict, or disappointment.

We hope this will open up space for care, intimacy, and reconciliation, and for everything in between.

This event is free to attend and will be held at Auto Italia. To book, please register here, or contact info@artworkassociation.org

Ariel Collier (she/they/we/our) is an artist, writer, researcher and curator currently based in London originally from South Florida

Collier’s work challenges alienation and estrangement, using multiple mediums (such as tufting, poetry and photography) and socially engaged practices to shift global understandings of black queer culture towards our inner worlds, reflections and interconnections.

Collier is the founder of Home Studio, a nomadic space dedicated to the promotion, empowerment and development of queer and trans global majority artists by hosting workshops, CRITS, making sessions and exhibitions.

3rd July 2014

Ed Baxter began as a sculptor and conceptual artist before he created and ran Resonance 104.4 FM, an experimental arts and sound radio station in London. Resonance programming is directed by Baxter with over 300 volunteer staff. It is supported by the London Musicians Collective and Arts Council England.

29th May 2014

Octavo Books practices a unique bookshop model, originated and run by Boris Jardine, a History of Science Curator at the Science Museum in London. Based on intensive historical research and drawing on a large private collection, Octavo offers only a few rare and important books at a time. A new web project is underway that will archive the work of running Octavo Books, sorting its research and images into a series of reading lists, syllabi and other resources.

15th May 2014

Mark Pawson has been experimenting with self-organized museums and collections for over 30 years. His extensive and unique library of printed matter includes zines, mail art, small press art publications, and a large number of miscellaneous print phenomenon. Mark also creates his own books, and distributes hard to find artist books. Mark has recently ‘unboxed’ his archive in a solo exhibition at Xero Kline & Coma.

1st May 2014
Heather Ring is a landscape architect and the Creative Director of Wayward Plants – a London-based landscape, art and architectural practice – an award-winning collective of designers, artists and urban growers. Their work spans from the design and production of large-scale public spaces to urban gardens and installations, including the Urban Physic Garden, Union Street Urban Orchard and Helsinki Plant Tram.