All workshops are listed in Eastern Time.
Unless specifically noted, our programs are free, virtual and suited for participants ages 16+. For further details about what to expect from our workshops, including accessibility options, and registration & Zoom instructions, click here.
This week, Shaun Smith's visual art workshop will be held in connection with our annual our annual winter solstice reading! Sign up for Glowing in The Dark and stay for Candle Painting with Shaun! Glowing in The Dark is hosted by Hari Alluri and Seema Reza, featuring readings from writers whose work sustains us, helps us to balance the light and darkness in both bright and difficult times. Featuring readings by Jay Anderson Anne Barlieb Aaron Caycedo-Kimura Diana Colón Teri Ellen Cross Davis LaQuantae Maya Marshall Diana Osborn Rick Writes and more! Please bring a candle to light with us and stay after the reading for our Visual Art Program with Veteran and Artist, Shaun Smith. Bring your medium of choice to learn how to paint a flame. About the hosts: Hari Alluri (he/him/siya) is author of The Flayed City (Kaya Press) and chapbooks The Promise of Rust (Mouthfeel Press) and Our Echo of Sudden Mercy (Next Page Press). He is co-editor of We Were Not Alone (Community Building Art Works) and co-founding editor at Locked Horn Press. Recipient of the Vera Manuel Prize for Poetry, siya has received grants, fellowships, and residencies from the BC Arts Council, Canada Council […]
Creative writing is a tool for knowing yourself, understanding the world, and connecting with other people. Led by author Seema Reza and accomplished guest writers—including poets, memoirists, novelists, and storytellers—these generative community workshops follow the model developed by Community Building Art Works (CBAW) over the course of a decade of bringing people together in military and hospital settings. Each workshop is designed to help participants put their personal stories on paper in a supportive environment. Whether you’re just starting out or have been writing for years, you are welcome; no experience is required. Bring a pen, a notebook, and an open mind! Your Writing Out Loud with author Rosamond S. King (in partnership with Strathmore) About This Workshop Mary Oliver stunned with a calm, clear voice; Gwendolyn Brooks emphasized rhythm; Jayne Cortez didn’t always read a poem the same way. This relaxed workshop for people new to or nervous about reading out loud will guide writers through recognizing and developing their own reading style. We’ll learn vocal exercises and explore modulation, breath, and pacing. There will be some writing, but please bring a poem of 10-20 lines or 200-400 words of prose to work with – and be ready to […]
No experience required! If you can think, you can write. In this creative writing workshop, we'll consider writing as a tool for communication, expression, and relief from holding it all together. Join us. Seema Reza is the author of the books A Constellation of Half-Lives and When the World Breaks Open. She is the CEO of Community Building Art Works, a non-profit organization that brings workshops led by professional artists to service members, veterans, and clinicians. An alumnus of Goddard College and VONA, Reza has taught poetry in classrooms, jails, hospitals, and universities. She was a 2019 Stand-to Veteran Leadership Fellow at the George W. Bush Institute and the 2023 Pauli Murray Art for Racial Justice Fellow at the Antiracism Research and Policy Center at American University. Reza’s writing has been widely anthologized and has appeared in the Washington Post, McSweeney’s, The LA Review, LitHub, and Electric Literature among others. REGISTER HERE MissionBelonging is funded in part by Creative Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network, an initiative of the National Endowment in partnership with the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant program is managed by Mid-America Arts Alliance.