Heartbreak Hotel

'Although it's always crowded, you still can find some room, for broken hearted lovers, to cry away their gloom' Elvis Presley

Welcome to Heartbreak Hotel, a 7-day festival that opened in February 2019 exploring all forms of heartbreak through art, music and conversation. This year we're back for a one-day heartbreak extravaganza with workshops, panels and our famous interactive 'letters to my ex' installation. Take your heartbreak to a place where it's welcome and make yourself at home in a community of broken hearts.

FREE ACTIVITIES

·  Letter-writing - write your own letter to your ex and add it to our installation

·  Anti-Valentine's Day card-making - got some people you want to appreciate? Make them a lovely card and decorate it

·  121 Counselling - got something on your mind and want to have a chat with someone in a confidential, non-judgmental environment? We will be offering a limited number of 30min slots where you can get some support. Places are on a first come first served basis, bookable via the ticket desk.

EVENTS PROGRAMME

12:00-14:00 - Playing With Heartbreak (Workshop)

A fun, interactive session exploring the theatrical aspects of heartbreak through a combination of gentle movement and sound. Bring your inner drama queen and get playful with some heartbreak classics. This session is body positive and all fitness levels are welcome. Say thank u, next to the bugaboo in your life and get your weekend off to a good start by feelin' good as hell.

Facilitator - Phil Moore

Phil has been teaching dance, movement and keep fit for over 15 years, promoting the healing capacity of movement as a way of working through emotions and supporting mental health. Phil teaches the Nia Technique, which is a fun low impact movement style, which is beginner-friendly and inclusive.

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14:00-16:00 - Build Your Power & Sexual Confidence (Workshop)

Getting what you want and actually asking for it can be a scary thing, especially if you're newly single. This workshop will include some fun, practical strategies to help you connect with your true desire and have the sex of your dreams.

In this interactive workshop you will be able to put yourself in the centre of your attention and ask yourself what do you really want...and actually have a space to think about it, without the pressure. The space will be carefully tailored for you to feel comfortable to connect with your honest desires, acknowledge them. You will be provided practical tools to harvest those precious findings and practice owing them, and eventually make your desires become reality. With great sensitivity, humour and lightness we shall put together a sex menu to help us prepare for a conversation most of us don't have very often. However, it's never too late to ask for what you want, power is in our hands.

Access & Content

This workshop will involve some light movement, meeting other participants and interacting with them, with also time for self reflection and integration. No touch, or nudity will be involved.

Facilitator - Marti Birch

Marti is international facilitator and speaker specialising in women's empowerment and erotic leadership. With 11 years of experience in the sexuality field, Marti has created her own unique approach to transformation and education around consent, sex and relationships. Marti's background as a professional dominatrix enables her to imbue her teaching with intersectional feminism and politics, and provide a broader perspective around power and empathy. Marti is also a multi-disciplinary artist, using her work as a tool for storytelling, empowerment and survival in the world.

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17:00-18:30 - How To Move On: Sex & Dating After Heartbreak (Panel Discussion)

This panel will explore how to approach sex and dating when you are newly single or have recently experienced heartbreak.

Our expert panellists will be answering questions and sharing useful strategies to take the first steps towards reconnecting with someone new and with yourself.

Questions Covered

·  How does heartbreak impact sex/sexuality and sexual arousal?

·  What are some of the fears someone might have relating to their sexuality when newly single?

·  When is it 'too soon' to have sex post-break up?

·  What does being on the rebound look like and how does someone know they're experiencing it?

·  What is it like to experience 'complicated heartbreak' e.g. within the context of non-monogamy?

·  Can we use solo/partnered sex as self-care when we're grieving? If so, how?

Panellists

Kim Loliya

Kim Loliya is a coach, educator and consultant specialising in women’s sexuality, pleasure and empowerment. Kim's practitioner work at The Pleasure Institute includes working with trauma, consent, shame, relationship difficulties and much more. Through body-based, practical tools, Kim creates a gentle healing space for singles and couples and offers new avenues for intimacy, joy and transformation. Outside of her clinic, Kim works as a speaker, facilitator and curator in the U.K and internationally and is the editor of sex+, a sex positive magazine that shares real stories and rewrites narratives about sex and sexuality.

Ruby Rare

Ruby is a sex educator, artist, and body positive champion. She's on a mission to engage people of all ages in positive conversations about their pleasure. Her work is influenced by her experiences as a queer, non-monogamous, dual-heritage woman. For the past 4 years she's worked at Brook, the UK's leading sexual health charity for young people, where she currently manages a National period equality project. On top of this, she facilitates events for adult audiences about non-monogamy, porn, sex toys, pleasure, and even how to be a slut! She’s spoken at Women of the World, Summerhouse Festival and on BBC4’s Woman’s Hour, and has been featured in Time Out, Huffington Post, MTV, and Pink News. She spends her days over-sharing on Instagram and eating too much jelly.

Rukiat

Rukiat is an award-nominated sex educator based in London and is determined to destigmatise sex and sexual health as well as encourage others to be more sex-positive. Her approach is one that is research-based, pleasure-focused, inclusive and misogynist free. Connect with her on Instagram @__rukiat

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