Seaweed Salon — The Compost Library

Join us for the first Compost Compact in Australia with Bacteria Books for the ‘Seaweed Salon Knowledge Symposium’ hosted by GardenHouse, on 1 Feb 2025.

Co-founders Clem MacLeod and P. Eldridge bring their open-access learning programme, The Compost Library, to Australia with the aim of helping people discover how to reap the personal, social, and political benefits of reading and writing for mental well-being. 

On this special occasion, we find inspiration in local and international texts by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Tyson Yunkaporta, Jazz Money, Tais Rose Wae, Ursula K. Le Guin and more. During the session, we invite participants into discussion about these texts and together attempt writing prompts to inspire our creative practices.

During the course, Worms will have a popup in-store shop where you can buy exclusive merch, magazines and books. On the occasion of this workshop, we have collaborated with Annabel Blackman to create a special edition Compost Library x Bacteria Books t-shirt, available to purchase at the workshop.

Tickets are $55 each with a limited capacity of 25 people. If you want to attend but have difficulty meeting the ticket cost, please reach out and we can consider your individual circumstances on a case by case basis: compost@worm-s.com.

***

With a distinct focus on tender participation and co-creation, The Compost Library (@compost.library) provides space for people to gather, share, listen and collectively imagine literary futures. The Compost Library acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land upon which we make and facilitate our work, the Arakwal, Minjunbal and Widjabal people of the Bundjalung nation. We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and their Elders past and present. We acknowledge the fact that sovereignty was never ceded and that Aboriginal people are Australia’s first storytellers.

Clem’s (@clompch) approach to facilitating is led by a personal history of using reading and writing to overcome mental health challenges. After studying fashion for 5 years, she realised that the most effective way of communicating and coming to terms with her personhood and identity was through therapeutic and creative practices of writing alongside sharing the stories and processes of other writers. She leads workshops with care and gentleness, helping people feel safe to express themselves and the challenges they are facing in their emotional and creative lives. Her literary influences are Chris Kraus, bell hooks, Susan Sontag, Robin Wall Kimmerer and Julia Cameron. Clem is the founder of Worms Magazine & Publishing and the Co-Founder of The Compost Library.

P. Eldridge (@pierceeldridge) is an artist, tranarchist, and founder of the radical force SISSY ANARCHY; a multifaceted platform dedicated to exploring the intersection of trans and queer identities with anarchist philosophies, most recently featured at the 60th Venice Art Biennale 2024 and named the leading indie press in London by AnOther Magazine. In her work, Eldridge explores the intersections of gender, sexuality, and identity across an array of projects. She uses a diverse set of means to engage these issues, including curating, writing, editing, performance dramaturgy, and social media. Her process is fluid, with no privileging of rigid methodologies, and centres the ethics of listening and love geared towards developing a revolutionary trans disciplinary. Recently, she interviewed Judy Chicago for Flash Art Magazine and, upon Chicago’s invitation, for STUDIO Magazine in 2024. She is based between London, New York City, and so-called Australia and is the Director, Managing Editor and Partnerships of Worms World C.I.C. and Co-Founder of The Compost Library.

SEAWEED SALON is a skill and knowledge-sharing symposium connecting our community with local artists and thinkers in a generative space for cultural learning and creation. It is an ode to the intelligent ecological networks that profoundly shape and sustain our world. We look forward to welcoming the community back for our second summer series of the SEAWEED SALON.