The Work of Becoming: the individual and the collective
Schedule
Sun Mar 15 2026 at 02:00 pm to 04:00 pm
UTC+00:00Location
esea contemporary | Manchester, EN
About this Event
Where should we go after the last frontiers?
Where should the birds fly after the last sky?
— Mahmoud Darwish, 1986. Translation by Carolyn Forché
For many years, dr dima mekdad’s practice has been informed by her lived experience of migration and displacement, community building and research, as well as her work alongside artists and communities navigating change, rupture, and renewal. Her method centres the body as a site of knowledge, relation, and transformation, attending to how personal experience is shaped through connection with others and the conditions we live within.
On the occasion of ‘Thresholds of Becoming’, she has envisioned this workshop as a shared space for sensing and practising becoming together. Moving gently through guided movement, moments for reflection and conversation, participants are invited to notice how awareness unfolds in the body and in relation to others. The session begins with individual embodied meditation, then moves into pairs and small groups, holding space for calm, connection, listening, and dialogue. All practices are invitational and grounded in participants’ consent.
Rather than framing ‘becoming’ as an individual goal or fixed outcome, the workshop approaches it as an ongoing relational process that emerges through attentiveness, care, and collective presence.
Advance booking is required to attend this event. We warmly encourage you to consider making a donation to support our charitable work.
About dr dima mekdad
dr dima mekdad is a researcher, creative practitioner, and embodied leadership facilitator whose work is deeply rooted in justice and collective care. She is Executive Director of Shubbak, Co-Chair of Refugee Week, and a practitioner with Healing Justice London. She previously served as Executive Director of Candoco Dance Company.
dima holds a PhD in Analytical Science from King’s College London and spent a decade as a clinical analysis researcher at the UK National Measurement Laboratory. She is co-founder of Qisetna: Talking Syria and Zamakan CIC, the umbrella for the Syrian Arts & Culture Festival (SACF) in London. Her practice is committed to creating thoughtful and transformative spaces for connection, healing, and cultural expression.
Image credits:
1-2. Saturday School Autumn 2024. Image courtesy Sana Badri.
3. Image courtesy of dr dima kedad. Photographed by Roswitha Chesher.
About esea contemporary
esea contemporary is the UK’s only non-profit art centre specialising in presenting and platforming artists and art practices that identify with and are informed by East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) cultural backgrounds.
esea contemporary is situated in an award-winning building in the heart of Manchester, home to one of the largest East Asian populations in the UK. Since its inauguration as a community-oriented visual arts festival in 1986, esea contemporary has continuously evolved to establish itself as a dynamic and engaging space for cross-cultural exchanges in the British art scene, as well as in a global context.
esea contemporary aims to increase the visibility of contemporary art practices from the East and Southeast Asian communities and their diasporas. It is a site for forward-thinking art programmes that beyond exhibitions also include commissions, research, residencies, publishing, and a wide range of vibrant public events. esea contemporary values creativity, compassion, interconnectedness, and collectivity in implementing its mission.
Learn more at: www.eseacontemporary.org
Photo by Joe Smith.
Where is it happening?
esea contemporary, 13 Thomas Street, Manchester, United KingdomEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 0.00 to GBP 3.00
