Dying to Write

Death is often a taboo topic – many prefer not to talk or think deeply about it in their daily lives. Yet, avoiding this important personal and cultural subject may also mean that we do not get to have conversations about things that matter – be it end-of-life care arrangements or emotional baggage – until it is too late. On the flip side, death as an event and the anxiety surrounding it often yield rich material for those interested in expressing themselves in art or literature.

While not meant to be a psychotherapy session, the 2.5-hour generative workshop will start participants rolling on writing expressively on this difficult theme as they respond to various prompts. Perhaps penning down your thoughts and feelings might also help you to articulate and process your fears.

Co-facilitated by mindfulness researcher Savannah Siew and Wendy Lim (Art Therapist, SAMH Creative Hub), this session is for writers of all levels, and aims to be a safe space in which to explore and confront our mortality.

Note to workshop participants: You are encouraged to bring pen, paper, laptop or what you are most used to writing with.

Biographies
Clara Chow is the author of seven books – the latest of which is Tales From The K-Pop. She has been writer-in-residence at Toji Cultural Center in South Korea, and an honorary fellow at the University of Iowa's International Writing Programme, and has been shortlisted four times for the Singapore Literature Prize. A former journalist, she now runs micro-publisher Hermit Press.

Savannah Siew is a psychology researcher with a keen interest in therapy, mental health, and mindfulness. She is currently undertaking her PhD in neuropsychology at Nanyang Technological University exploring individual differences in mindfulness. Through an unexpectedly profound and meaningful course taken on psycho-socio-cultural perspectives on death and dying at NTU, she became fascinated with the power of contemplating one’s mortality.

Wendy Lim is an Art Therapist at SAMH Creative Hub and has more than five years of working experience with a diverse population group ranging from youths to elderly. She specialises in working with ex-offenders, people in substance recovery and individuals with various mental health conditions. She has experience conducting various workshops to create awareness. Topics such as art therapy, danger and harmful effects of drug, life skills strategies are her forte.

About MENTAL’s Closing Programmes (18 – 26 Feb)
As MENTAL: Colours of Wellbeing exhibition draws to a close, join us to explore notions of care, consider different methods of repair and healing, and learn empathy in ways that we are not otherwise used to.

MENTAL’s closing programmes line-up includes Scores for Caregiving workshop and participatory installation by artist Alecia Neo, Dying to Write generative writing workshop with writer-editor Clara Chow, Embracing Music for a Healthier Future talk by Kat Agres (Founding Director of the Centre for Music and Health at YST Conservatory, NUS), and Let's Unpack This conversational card games with social enterprise Happiness Initiative.