Home EventsPart of Who Wants To Be Happy?

Can People Make Us Happy?

,
Past
  • Free
  • Workshop
  • Youth event
  • Auto-captioned
  • British Sign Language
  • Audio described
Photograph of a tablet standing on a stool. On the left half of the tablet screen is a photographic portrait of Jess Thom, wearing a blue sweater.  On the right half of the tablet screen is a photographic portrait of Jamie Hale, wearing glasses and a black sweater with a patterned jacket over it. Also, on the screen are video call icons "People", "Chat" and a red telephone icon. There are green decorative palm leaves displayed in the background behind the tablet which is next to the edge of a blue sofa with a yellow cushion.
Who Wants to be happy?, Photo: Kathleen Arundell. Left: Portrait of Jess Thom by Ben Gilbert. Right: Portrait of Jamie Hale by Steven Pocock. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

What you’ll do

Join artists Jamie Hale and Jess Thom in a creative workshop exploring how we can use laughter and joy as a catalyst for change.

The workshop will start with a conversation focusing on the connections between community, creativity and protest. Jamie and Jess will draw on their own experiences as disability activists and artists to share powerful ideas and artworks that have inspired them. 

Then you’ll have the opportunity to take part in a creative activity inspired by the aesthetics of protest and disability history. You can design a physical or digital banner that shares your message with the world. 

Or explore how creating something that captures a positive experience, such as a moment of shared joy and solidarity, can be a form of protection when things feel tough and help build capacity to resist. 

This is a relaxed event. Cameras can be on or off as needed. You can move around and make noise at any time. If you need to dip in and out of the session, you can. There will be multiple ways to communicate, ask questions and participate (such as using the chat function if you do not want to use your voice).  

If you have any access requests or requirements, for example a transcript of the event, email us at  access@wellcomecollection.org or call 020 7611 2222.  

This workshop is for 14- to 19-year-olds. It is limited to 16 places and booking is essential. You will be given joining instructions for Zoom in your confirmation email. 

Dates

,
Past

Need to know

Guaranteed

Booking a ticket guarantees you entry to the online event. You will be given joining instructions in your confirmation email.

Auto-captioned

There will be auto-generated captions for this event.

British Sign Language

This event is British Sign Language interpreted. An interpreter will be embedded in the event stream/visible to all attendees and will interpret what is discussed into BSL for d/Deaf, hard of hearing and deafened attendees.

Audio described

The host and speakers will describe themselves and key visual elements they refer to. There will not be a separate audio description track.

For more information, please visit our Accessibility page. If you have any queries about accessibility, please email us at access@wellcomecollection.org or call 0 2 0. 7 6 1 1. 2 2 2 2

Our event terms and conditions

About your contributors

Photograph of a white person with short brown hair and a short beard. They are wearing glasses and a checked blue shirt.

Jamie Hale

(they/them)
Facilitator

Jamie is an artist, curator, and founder and artistic director of disability arts organisation CRIPtic Arts. They create poetry, comedy, scriptwriting and drama for page, stage and screen, and are currently directing a showcase at the Barbican Centre for autumn 2021 and a disability arts documentary. They have written for Wellcome Collection and the Guardian newspaper and have performed at venues including the Southbank Centre. Their poetry pamphlet, ‘Shield’, was published in January 2021.

Jess Thom

(she/her)
Contributor

Artist, activist and part-time superhero, Jess Thom co-founded Touretteshero in 2010 as a creative response to her experience of living with Tourette’s syndrome. She has written in the mainstream and disability press, including the Guardian, the Observer and Disability Now, and has been a Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellow.

Graphic logo for the Young People's Forum, made up of teal and red speech bubbles containing the white letters Y P F.

Young People's Forum

Collaborator

Young people from Great Ormond Street Hospital’s Young People’s Forum were advisors and co-creators on this project, helping design the content and activity.