Get your mind out of the gutter. This 3 hour workshop has nothing to do with sex. But everything to do with the foundations of healthy relationships with ourselves, our friends and our partners.

Set against a backdrop of rising loneliness, digital addiction, and disconnection from self, here at What Does Not we’re diving deeper into the cure for the common disconnect.

Introducing: BARE – an intimacy and consent workshop for all types of humans.

BARE follows hot on the heels of our flagship human connection event, the RAW listening nights, and gives people the tools to be agents of change.

BARE begs the question, ‘how do we create IRL relationships where we see and value others, and feel seen and valued in return?’ By dropping the masks and getting familiar with the lost art of intimacy, we can develop healthy relationships, and inspire gentle, diverse, inclusive, and meaningful communities that create a ripple effect of change.

What it is:

The BARE workshop is a guided and safe embodied experience that helps you discover creative ways to:

• Connect
• Practice empathy
• Ask for what you want
• Deconstruct judgment and expectations
• Navigate boundaries and needs without words
• And listen to yourself and your peers with kindness and respect

What it’s NOT

• A workshop about sex and kink
• Practices around desire and lust
• BDSM or any other form of alternative sex practices
• But what you learn can inform safe and respectful practices in all areas of life.

Who this is for

Anyone with an interest in being a better human, more respectful friend, and more attuned partner. And for those who want to learn to practice boundaries, as well as the giving and revoking of consent.

What happens on the day

Guided by a leading practitioner in the intimacy space, Lidia Ravviso, you’ll engage in simple but powerful practices that include: interactive activities and dialogue, use body movement and play to reflect on power dynamics, intimacy, and consent both giving and revoking it, care, and self-care while feeling at ease with the other participants.

Together, we’ll create spaces that improve lives and build communities where being seen, heard, and valued isn’t the exception – it’s the rule.

Event Details:

When: Sunday, April 28th

Where: The Ministry 79-81 Borough Rd, London SE1 1DN

Duration: 3hrs including break

Arrivals: From 11 am
Part one: 11.30 am - 12:45 pm
Break: 30 mins to grab refreshments/snacks
Part two: 1:15 pm-2:30 pm

Important Information: Please arrive at least 15 minutes before the 11:30 am start. There is a deli at the venue. We will also be providing some refreshments in the workshop space.

Access and what to bring

The venue is wheelchair accessible. All genders, abilities, and sexual orientations are welcome.

Wear comfortable clothes and bring:

• a water bottle
• a notebook
• and a pen

All activities are optional. If you need a time out, we’ll have a designated space where you can sit on your own, and relax without having to engage. The What Does Not team will be available and on hand if you want to chat, or have any questions.

Food and drink

Some complimentary refreshments are provided. Food and drink will be available for purchase from The Ministry’s deli. There is also a still and sparkling water tap for refilling bottles.

About the facilitator: Lidia Ravviso

Lidia is a film industry professional with a decade of expertise in erotica, body positivity, and creating safe spaces for intimacy. She is also a trained intimacy coordinator accredited by Safe Sets Ltd. Intimacy coordination is a new role that’s coming into its own, and puts a focus on consent and safety for actors and the production team.

Taking the learnings of working with actors to create safe spaces and build foundations of trust, she is now sharing these simple, non-sex related practices with the general public to help improve their lives. You can learn more about her intimacy coordination work here.

As a film producer, her work exploring the perspectives of female, trans, non-binary, and queer communities in the representation of sexuality has been featured in film festivals, magazines, and academic publications. As a curator and programmer, she organises screenings, talks, and workshops reflecting on intimacy, pleasure, and safe practices. She is also the artistic director of Uncensored, an interdisciplinary festival focused on unconventional art practices and queer-feminist politics and funded by Arts Council England.

About What Does Not

All-female culture agency, What Does Not, is a hybrid entity for a changing world. We combine the functions of an events company, collective, and creative agency to create an ecosystem for fulfilling humanity's needs for belonging, opportunity, and purpose. Taking the universal languages of music, food, stories and more, and using them for more than indulgence or escapism, we create fun, safe spaces of common ground – where people can discover their shared humanity in innovative ways.

We're breaking the mould of days and nights out by dishing out the cure to loneliness in cool and vibey ways, while giving a leg up to emerging creators. From immersive storytelling nights, to live music events, panels with a difference – and more – everything we do at What Does Not is designed to be an antidote for this age of loneliness, disconnection, and polarisation. Find out about our membership options here.

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