Touching Palms with Grief is an exhibition and event programme exploring the complex and nuanced ways we cope with loss. We all go through seasons of grief at some point - whether from losing a person, or perhaps when a relationship breaks down, we're uprooted from our home, or our dreams collapse in on us. It impacts everyone, and yet as a society we tend to be hesitant to acknowledge it, speak of it, feel it.
Showcasing artwork and writing from the recent Student Grief Zine (studentgriefzine.com), and photography stills from the short film Floating on Blue, the exhibition invites us to gently untangle our relationship with the subject, whether this is deeply personal, or more from a stance of wanting to understand and support others. It acknowledges the complexity of grief, touching on a whole spectrum of emotions, from sorrow and longing, to anger, anxiety and even relief and joy. It looks at how grief can disconnect us - from ourselves and each other, and seeks to provide, through art and conversation, a point of reconnection, and in turn, a way through the darkness.
The exhibition runs at The Gallery Cafe from 16th April – 25th May, Monday – Sunday 9.00am-6.00pm
-Private view, screening and panel discussion - Thursday 18th April, 6.30-9pm (The Gallery Cafe, St Margaret's House)
- Quiet screening and reflective drop-in space - Sunday 20th April 3pm-5.30pm (The Chapel, St Margaret’s House)
- Informal talk and screening, followed by an evening of music and celebration – Sunday 20th April 5.30pm-8.30pm (The Chapel, St Margaret’s House)
Anna May is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and facilitator based in London. She has experience in the mental health sector and founded The Student Grief Network, an organisation softening the impact of loss in universities, in 2018, and she works closely with The New Normal Charity. She recently founded the creative platform, Touching Palms Studio, to bring artists together to experiment across form and subject. Her work seeks to interrogate the intimate, often challenging elements of being human, and to shift cultural understandings of wellbeing so that we can move towards positive change, both as individuals and as a collective.