This is a community-run, experimental space where we practice the art of relating.
When: fortnightly on Tuesdays, 19:00-22:00. Remaining dates in 2023: 28th Nov and 12th Dec, restarting on 16th Jan 2024.
How to attend: please make you sure you book by sending and email to authenticfredsc@gmail.com to secure your spot. The group is open to everyone, both regular members and one-off visitors.
Room: Art Room or Studio, occasionally in the Garden (if the weather is good)
Suggested donation: £5 (please find more information on how to donate at the end of this page)
Accessibility: Art Room is located on the ground floor and it is fully accessible. Studio is not accessible yet. The Salisbury Centre’s kitchen door and toilet are now wheelchair accessible. The Garden can also be accessed by wheelchairs via a movable ramp via the Art Room Annex.
The Authentic Connection Group, also known as “Authentic Fred,” is a community-run, experimental space where we practice the art of relating. We do it through playing Authentic Relating games, learning about consent, Circling, and exploring other practices that bring us closer to ourselves and each other.
Our two keywords are “Authentic” and “Connection”.
Authentic, because we believe in staying true to your experience and expressing it in a skilful way to others, rather than pretending you’re feeling / thinking something else.
Connection, because we value staying in connection with ourselves and others, no matter what our experience is at any point.
We draw a lot on Authentic Relating games, inspired by Sara Ness and the work of Authentic Revolution work. At the same time, we’re open to all practices that have to do with connection, communication, and relationships. Each session is different and unique. However, we do have our roots in foundational practices such as The Noticing Game and Circling.
Our informal motto is this quote from Fred Rodgers, an American TV host and author:
“Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. The people we trust with that important talk can help us know that we are not alone.”
Email us at authenticfredsc@gmail.com to reserve your spot. At this time, we’re keeping the spaces limited to 20 people (not including the facilitators) due to the room size and the nature of what we’re doing. This ensures a quality experience for everyone.
After you’ve come for a few times and feel more comfortable in the group, you’re very welcome to take agency of the group, too. This can mean facilitating (or co-facilitating) one of the sessions, taking on email bookings for a few weeks, or writing a bi-weekly newsletter.
All of this is optional but highly encouraged! 🙂 The group relies on the contributions of the members and is co-created by all.
If you sign up for a course that carries on over several weeks or months, whatever is your contribution, please show your commitment by attending or letting the facilitator know when you’re not able to attend. Facilitators may decide to cancel a meeting if in their view there’s insufficient participation to make it worthwhile. Participants will be notified.
Our agreements are signposts for the group’s culture. They help us know what to expect in the group (both from ourselves and others) and through that, create a space in which we can feel safer to explore edgy relational territory.
We always revisit the agreements at the beginning of the session. You can read through them out here at any time.
Here’s the short version:
Participation in our community-led events is often on a voluntary ‘by donation’ basis. This means that nobody is expected to make a payment if they cannot afford to do so. However, any donations received will be shared between the Centre and the facilitator, helping to make the events’ programme sustainable as well as to provide some reciprocity towards community facilitators’ time and skills offered.
Where a “suggested donation” is listed, this is just an indication of what the event might cost if it was ticketed – it is fine to donate less (or nothing at all). Donating is one way to show your appreciation for the value of the Salisbury Centre. Please consider ‘paying it forward’ by donating a bit extra if you can afford, helping to keep it possible for everyone to take part, regardless of their circumstances.
To donate:
This is an invitation to practice ‘Dana’ (generosity) – please pay only what you can afford to attend. If you cannot afford the event, please get in touch with the facilitator to request a free/discounted place.