Africa Fashion Salon: Grief Lab (18 - 26 years)

Drawing from the rituals of weaving and layering shared in Africa Fashion, Grief Lab invites participants to lean into the grief narratives we carry, creatively explore how they are shaped by the society we sit in and find space for the unsaid.

Grief lab is a space where participants are invited to play into and with grief. Led by poet and writer Yomi Sode and artist and agitator Chloe Osborne, it is a facilitated space to explore together.

Grief Lab explores feelings surrounding inherited cloths, particularly African textiles and clothing as displayed and discussed in the Africa Fashion exhibition. All 18-26 year olds are welcome and we particularly encourage young people of African descent to join the workshop.

Grief Lab is an arts-led workshop, not a counselling session. It is a space for people to explore grief through their senses and through play. A therapist will be present throughout the session and an optional decompression space will be available when Grief Lab finishes.

“Grief is like being in a room by yourself, without the words or ability to describe it to people or to see the way in or out… I could sense that there are other rooms, I could feel the big house of it.”
Grief Lab Participant

The Africa Fashion Salon series is part of the Young People’s Programme for 18–26-year-olds to engage in topical discussion relating to the Africa Fashion exhibition.