Hothouse Bookclub: Solastalgic Summer
31 Aug 2023
🌱📚 Join us for an unforgettable celebration as we mark the first anniversary of Hothouse Bookclub! To commemorate this special occasion, we’re hosting an end-of-summer party and panel event, all centered around the theme of SOLASTALGIA, hosted by Second Home Spitalfields! 📚 🌱
But what exactly is SOLASTALGIA?
SOLASTALGIA is defined as the distress that is produced by environmental change impacting on people while they are directly connected to their home environment. It’s the pain and longing we feel as we realize the world immediately around us is changing, with our love for that world serving as a catalyst for action on its behalf. Rather fitting in relation to all of the books we’ve delved into together this past year!
We will be discussing solastagia with a lineup of exceptional individuals who are making waves in the world of activism, literature, and academia including; Tori Tsui, author and a fierce advocate for climate justice and Samrawit Gougsa, co-lead of the Land Body Ecologies research group at the Wellcome Trust and Head of Communications at Minority Rights Group and Damien Gayle, environment correspondent for the Guardian.
Once the panel wraps up, get ready to let loose and dance the night away to BlueRingedBaby on the decks! ✨
Libreria bookshop will also be joining us at the event, offering you the opportunity to stock up on an array of environmental books, including It’s Not Just You by Tori Tsui! 📖💚
So mark your calendars for this evening full of meaningful conversations, wonderful music, and a chance to connect with the hothouse community who share your passion for making a positive impact on our beloved planet. Let’s raise our glasses to a year of growth, knowledge, and the bonds we’ve forged through the love of literature and environmental consciousness.
Secure your spot now, and let’s make this a night to remember as we continue our journey of transformation, one page at a time. See you there! 🌍🌿
PANELISTS
Tori Tsui is a Bristol-based climate activist, speaker and consultant from Hong Kong. She is the co-founder of the space Bad Activist Collective and a member of the climate coalition Unite For Climate Action. Prior to this she sailed across the Atlantic with the think tank Sail to the COP, she was sponsored by Stella McCartney after being named an agent of change. Her work centres around climate justice, making sure that climate policy, action and organising is intersectional, inclusive and transformative. Alongside organising, she is an advisory board member of the Earth Percent group , Climate Resilience Project and a strategist with Hero Circle.
Samrawit is the Co-lead at the Land Body Ecologies research group. Land Body Ecologies (LBE) is a global, transdisciplinary research group seeking to understand the mental health dimensions of minority, Indigenous and other land-dependent communities’ relationship to ecologies in a changing environment. She is also the head of communications at Minority Rights Group International.
Damien Gayle is an environment correspondent for the Guardian covering climate action worldwide.
moderated by ISSEY GLADSTON
Issey Gladston is a photographer, journalist and creative producer carving a path that blends artistry, advocacy, and storytelling to catalyse how we perceive and address the most pressing challenge of our time – the climate crisis. She is the co-founder of Hothouse Book Club and runs Sexy Climate Change, an online platform that explores the deep connections between the fashion industry and the climate and ecological crisis. She has a Master’s Degree from Oxford University where she researched how digital media can be used to increase public understanding of, and engagement with the climate crisis. Her research has been published by The Climate Institute and she presented at the New Fashion Initiative’s Academic Consortium.
