A two-part program that centers the plant-ally Saint-John’s-Wort and the queer poetics it offers. Join artists Sasa Ghanem-Chaney, Jules Davis-Dufayard, and A.E.Z Pinay for an afternoon of queer collective care. In the evening there will be a special gathering with plant offerings, a sonic mediation, and a concert by Queer Choir Amsterdam.

earthly suns is a multidisciplinary research project, developed by Jules Davis-Dufayard and Sasa Ghanem-Chaney, that departs from a shared love towards the plant Saint-John’s-Wort, and a shared love for communal singing. Together they have embarked on a long-term research around this plant-ally since summer 2025, inspired by the queer poetics it offers as it grows powerful and unnoticed between Amsterdam’s pavements. They hope to develop land and body based seasonal practices which are relevant to the current context of late-stage racial capitalism, and which can contribute to the physical, emotional and spiritual nourishment of current social change movements. This research takes form through herbalism, storytelling, trauma-informed care practices, and vocal somatics (Deep Listening). The earthly suns workshop and gathering emerge from their research and collective practices. 

earthly suns – workshop
14:00 – 18:00

Jules Davis-Dufayard and Sasa Ghanem-Chaney invite you for an afternoon of queer collective care centering the plant-ally Saint-John’s-Wort (SJW). During this workshop they will share knowledge around what SJW has to offer in terms of physical and mental healing, as well as take inspiration from its resilient growth through Amsterdam’s urban landscape. They will share tools from herbalism, plant symbolism, somatics, collective singing, and vocal meditation working towards community healing and care strategies. Special guest A.E.Z. Pinay will also intervene and invite the group into his grieving practice in the form of choral mourning. In his work he explores the rhythmicality of sobs and sighs, and the melody of moans and laments, as well as the seemingly impossible task to establish a framework that properly allows sorrow to flow.

The workshop is followed by a simple dinner, between 18h – 19h, prepared by maria khatchadourian (only for workshop participants). After the dinner an event will follow with a large scale collective sonic meditation, and a concert by Queer Choir Amsterdam. Separate tickets are available for the evening programme.

The workshop ticket includes the possibility to stay for the evening programme. You can note your participation when you purchase your ticket. 

earthly suns – gathering and performance program
20:00 – 22:00

Join us for an evening of queer joy centering the plant-ally Saint-John’s-Wort (SJW). Sasa and Jules will open the evening with an introduction to their research, offering Saint-John’s-Wort tea and oil for hand massage. The audience will be invited into a collective sonic meditation, followed by a concert by Queer Choir Amsterdam. 

Workshop Price: €20
Student/Solidarity: €15

Evening programme (from 20:00): €7.50
Student/Solidarity: €5

Buy your ticket via Eventbrite page.

Accessibility info:
Herbal safety: Consumption of Saint-John’s Wort tea or massage oils during the evening is entirely optional. Saint-John’s Wort is a powerful plant, and can weaken the effect of certain medications. Please read this one-page document before consuming Saint-John’s Wort: side effects and contraindications.

Wheelchair access: W139 is spread over two floors. The workshop, dinner, and evening events will all happen on the ground floor, which is wheelchair accessible. Our toilets are located on the first floor, which can only be reached via stairs. The nearest wheelchair accessible public toilets can be found at Krasnapolsky Hotel, 150m away, at the start of the road (Dam Square). For other questions regarding the accessibility of the building, please contact info@w139.nl.

Seating: There will be chairs, benches, or cushions available for everyone, as well as blankets. Feel free to bring your own blanket, stand, move around, and come in and out as your body needs.

Sound: The event will be held in English. There will be no sound amplification for the workshop nor the concert. Audience members will be invited to join in on the singing for some parts of the concert, this is entirely optional. 

Covid/infection safety: We ask everyone to do a covid self-test before entering the event space. There will be self-tests and face-masks available for free/on donation at the entrance of W139. Make sure not to consume food or drinks for 30min before testing, and to allow 15min for your test result to show. Mask wearing is encouraged.

Negative results for such self-tests are unfortunately only ~75% reliable (whilst positive results are ~95% reliable), and all viruses are a risk for immunocompromised folks. Therefore, if you are experiencing any covid/cold/flu symptoms on the day of the event, we will be sorry to miss you, but ask that you stay home and join us at a later public event of the series. Please email margarita@w139.nl to cancel your booking so we can offer your spot to someone else.

Unfortunately, the budget for this event doesn’t allow for translation, sign language interpretation, or live image description. 

This event is part of a series of three programs, which will each have slightly different accessibility. We hope you can join us again in the future. Please email julesdavisdufayard@gmail.com with ‘SJW mail list’ in the email title to be kept informed about future events.

The ticket sales will go towards covid tests, masks, and materials. If the cost is a barrier, please email julesdavisdufayard@gmail.com