Merel Smitt and SICK festival host The Launderette Sessions at Harpurhey launderette ‘Amazing Grace Launderette’, transforming it into a supportive, collective community space, where the time spent waiting is no longer something to be suffered solo, but is a gift to share with others.

Everyone who comes in will be offered a free wash, and you’ll spend your time waiting together with a tea or coffee, games, a conversation, walks, creative workshops and activities, for a moment of meaningful gathering.

The sessions will explore the role that ‘waiting’ takes within our lives and aims to reclaim the otherwise lost time for ourselves, in a way that supports each other through community.

The Launderette Sessions is a socially engaged art project by artist Merel Smitt in collaboration with Professor Sarah Marie Hall (University of Manchester) & Ariane Gros (dramaturgy).

The project is commissioned by SICK! Festival and developed in partnership with the Amazing Grace Launderette in Harpurhey with support from the University of Manchester.

Thanks to special contributions of Inspire Women Oldham, Morag Rose (Loiterers Resistance Movement) and all the washers that visited our space.