The Sanctuary Within

A free nine-week interdisciplinary programme for Black women, trans women and non-binary people.

13 October–8 December 2026
Tuesday evenings
Wellcome Collection, London
Free

The Sanctuary Within is a nine-week interdisciplinary programme exploring Black wellbeing, healing and embodied knowledge through art, movement, ritual, gynaecological health, food and collective practice.

Across the programme, we will consider the ways Black communities have cultivated practices of care and wellbeing across generations, often drawing upon forms of knowledge that exist beyond clinical and institutional models.

Through visual culture, collective dialogue, somatic practice, creative workshops and ritual-making, participants will explore relationships between the body, health, memory and healing, while making intentional space for joy, rest, connection and resilience.

The programme is anchored by The Virgin of Guadalupe (1745), a Black Madonna held in the Wellcome Collection. The work opens up a wider exploration of the Black Madonna and the histories, spiritual traditions and cultural meanings that have gathered around her. In Mexico, devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe has long existed in relationship with Indigenous histories and traditions associated with Tonantzin, the Nahua mother deity. Across Black feminist and diasporic spiritual traditions, the Black Madonna has also been reclaimed as a figure of liberation, protection, the holding of grief, maternal care beyond biological motherhood and spiritual sovereignty.

Throughout The Sanctuary Within, we will encounter mythologies, traditions and practices of wellbeing that have developed beyond, alongside and sometimes in resistance to dominant Western medical and patriarchal frameworks. Together, we will share knowledge, create rituals and explore embodied practices that can become resources for individual and collective wellbeing.

At its heart, The Sanctuary Within is a space for connection, reflection, care and collective resourcing: a space to consider not only how we heal, but what becomes possible when we create the conditions in which we can feel held.

The Virgin of Guadalupe.
Source: Wellcome Collection.

  • 13 October

    Rochelle Webster Nembhard

    Altar Making: Indigenous and Spiritual Wisdom

    We begin by exploring altar-making as an embodied and creative practice, connecting ritual, Indigenous and spiritual wisdom, memory and collective care.

    20 October

    Jamila Johnson-Small


    Dance and Embodiment

    Through dance and movement, this session explores our relationships with our bodies, the spaces we inhabit and the knowledge the body carries, opening conversations around gynaecological health and wellbeing.

    27 October — Seyi Adelekun
    Somatic Movement and Embodiment

    A session centred on somatic movement and embodied practice, exploring ways of listening to the body, developing bodily awareness and creating space for rest, release and connection.

    3 November — Dr Annabel Sowemimo
    Gynaecological Health and Self-Advocacy

    An exploration of gynaecological health and how to advocate for yourself within clinical healthcare settings. The session will consider conditions including fibroids, endometriosis and adenomyosis, alongside medical models of care and the experiences of Black women navigating healthcare.

    10 November — Integration Week

    A week to pause, rest and reflect on the first half of the programme.

    17 November — Gaylene Gould
    Black Mary, Water and Healing

    Taking place at Calthorpe Community Garden, this session explores the mythology of Black Mary and her well alongside relationships between water, ritual, nature and gynaecological wellbeing. We will spend time with the medicinal garden, explore seasonal plants and create a collective water ritual, accompanied by a seasonal meal.

    24 November — Chine McDonald with Bekah Williams and Yaya Moon
    Black Motherhood, Womb Ecology and Community Care

    Beginning with a viewing of The Virgin of Guadalupe, we will consider the mythology of Mary and deconstruct ideas of perfect motherhood through Black feminist and womanist perspectives. We will explore mothering beyond biological motherhood and the networks of care created between friends, sisters, aunties, mothers, grandmothers and communities.

    The session will move into an exploration of womb ecology, herbal knowledge and menstrual and gynaecological wellbeing through tea-making, meditation and sound.

    1 December — Hannah Catherine Jones
    Sound, Sculpture and Healing

    An immersive session bringing together sound, sculpture and collective practice, including an activation of Rudy Loewe’s work and an exploration of sound as a tool for connection, embodiment and healing.

    8 December — Safiya, Sisterwoman Vegan
    Celebration Dinner and Collective Reflection

    We close The Sanctuary Within around the table. Through a shared celebration dinner, we will reflect on the knowledge, practices and relationships developed across the programme and celebrate the community created over nine weeks.

  • The Sanctuary Within is for Black women, trans women and non-binary people interested in exploring wellbeing through creativity, embodied practice, cultural knowledge and collective care.

    You do not need any previous experience of art, movement, somatic practice or the other disciplines explored during the programme.

    The programme is designed as a collective journey. With only 18 places available, we ask participants to commit to attending as many sessions as possible so that together we can build a consistent, trusting and supportive space.

  • Participation in The Sanctuary Within is free, with 18 places available for the Autumn/Winter 2026 cohort.

    Applications are now open.

    Apply for The Sanctuary Within