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 (see the trailer below), 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.

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.

Touching Palms with Grief

Touching Palms with Grief is an exhibition and event programme exploring the complex and nuanced ways we cope with loss and how working with creativity can allow us to untangle our experiences and gently connect with our feelings.

The Gallery Cafe: 16th April – 20th May, Monday – Sunday 9.00am-6.00pm

Event programme:

💜 18th April, 6.30-9pm - open evening with film screening & panel discussion (Gallery Café, St Margaret's House, register for ticket)

💜 20th April, 3-5pm - quiet film screening & reflective drop-in space (The Chapel, St Margaret's House, no ticket needed)

💜 20th April, 5.30-8.30pm - talk & film screening with a bar and DJ (The Chapel, St Margaret's House, register for ticket)

💜 27th April, 10am-12noon - 'Conversations Into The Unknown' workshop (The Create Place, St Margaret's House, register for ticket)

https://www.instagram.com/studentgriefnetwork/