The Survivor Arts Community Choir Are Asking Survivors to Sign-Up

The Survivor Arts Community are inviting self-identifying women survivors of abuse to join their Autumn and Winter season choirs. The Glasgow-based charity will be hosting an information event on Thursday 14 September for people interested in joining.

By Devon McCole

The Survivor Arts Choir is a project run by The Survivor Arts Community, a non-profit organisation set up to support survivors of sexual violence and domestic abuse through art and other creative outlets.

The choir is a place for women and non-binary, or self-identifying, survivors to come together to meet one another and develop their musicianship, singing, voice work and creativity. The entire project is planned and delivered with survivors in mind, using trauma-informed practice.

Eloise Birtwhistle, Director of Survivor Arts, told Greater Govanhill: “We understand that joining a group made for survivors may create anxiety so an experienced support worker is always present at sessions in case anyone would like to take a moment aside with someone who can offer one-to-one support.

A completely private space will be available for this, as well as for participants to take breaks in should they want to. The Support Workers joining us for the choir also work at Glasgow East Women's Aid and Glasgow Rape Crisis.”

This year the Survivor Arts Community Choir are calling on new survivors to join them for the last two seasons of the year - the autumn and winter seasons.

Choir sessions will take place on Thursday evenings, 6.30pm-8.00pm, with the autumn season running from Thursday the 21 September until Thursday the 19 October. And the Winter season will run from Thursday November 2 until Thursday November 30.

Before the new seasons begin, The Survivor Community will be hosting an online information session on September 14 for people who are interested in joining or finding out more about the choir. Tickets are available on Eventbrite for those who would like to reserve their spot.

Those interested in joining are welcome to sign-up for both seasons. No previous experience is required, there will be a support worker present throughout, and travel and childcare reimbursement are available.

Autumn season: sign up here.

Winter season: sign up here.

Eloise said: “In all of our work we aim to create a trauma-informed environment where survivors can come together to do something for themselves that is joyful, communal and creative. We hope to offer something that balances against the necessary but emotionally hard work that survival often requires, as well as something that addresses some of the barriers to accessing the arts that survivors may face”

Those who join the choir will also get the opportunity to perform publicly in December, something which Eloise hopes will showcase the survivors’ talents and creativity, as a way to challenge the misconceptions people may have about survival and abuse.

The Survivors Choir is just one of the projects run by the charity but there are more on their website that focus not only on music but also on visual arts, writing and other mixed-media projects.

To find out more about the work they do and the support available then visit their website at www.survivorartscommunity.co.uk

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