Earlier this year RASA put out an urgent appeal as they don’t have enough funds for their vital work. The importance of their work is ineffable, to us personally, everyone in Merseyside and beyond. For us, doing something to help raise funds was the only way we could respond. Hence, Commonality Grrrl. We are currently planning our first guided collaging workshop for the start of June 2025. During this workshop we hope to bring all kin together in a safe space to get creative all whilst supporting the growth of our community’s aid. 

Riot Grrrl’s tenacious, punk feminism of utilising what you already have to make loud waves, deeply animates how we are navigating this project. Just like the Riot Grrrl’s of the 90’s, unapologetic inclusivity and diversity, it's important to us to add to our community in a way that benefits everyone. As Sara Marus explains when she was interviewed about her book ‘Girls to the Front’, ‘Riot Grrrl was basically about taking the ethos of D.I.Y. – do it yourself – and saying, hey, this ethos – create your own culture, make your own community – could be really helpful … we could mobilize that for explicitly feminist purposes.’ (Kerson, 2011 p.6) This is exactly what we are planning to do through Commonality Grrrl’s workshops. The idea of using simple and readily available materials, along with some help from our community, we want these workshops to be inviting and easy to participate in. Furthermore, making this into a project that can benefit everyone in an uncomplicated, secure way.

Although we would like our new found community to have fun and create something worthwhile, it's truly the act of coming together for a greater cause that we hope makes the biggest waves. We are hugely inspired by Emily Salina’s ‘Project Lovemebomb’. A project that utilizes reclaiming the toxic behaviors of lovebombing, to bring people together to create ‘something positive, as well as seeking to raise awareness about lovebombing and other red flags. so others can be better armed against getting sucked into a toxic relationship.’ (Salina, p.1) This project again takes a collectively painful experience and seeks to turn it into something where there is joy to be found. Salina’s project really has created a ‘Mexican wave of appreciation’ (Salina p.5) through each part of the project inspiring the next. When speaking with Salina about this project, this was a delightfully unexpected notion that kept growing. She explained how when she initially started by making the ‘bombs filled with love’, she hadn’t even envisioned the next parts of the project. We also hope for this to be the case for Commonality Grrrl, from simply coming together through the workshops, we’re excited to see what can come from this.