The law which make it illegal to look at some pornography -- even of consenting people who are not harmed  -- gets Royal Assent today.

Join www.backlash-uk.org.uk and others and protest against these draconian thought crimes in Parliament Square at 4.45 today, wednesday May 7th.

The New Sex Crimes is a double bill of talks takes a critical look at the emerging relationship between the internet, sexuality and the law.

The UK government is currently pushing ahead with plans to criminalise the possession of "extreme pornography". This new law has been proposed as a supplement to existing obscenity laws, as a way of keeping up with new developments in information technology. The proposed changes would dramatically alter obscenity law; the result is likely to have far-reaching and unexpected consequences for artists and film-makers of all kinds and the institutions which fund them. A panel discusses the implications of the proposed law for contemporary artistic practice.

Speakers: Professor Julian Petley, chair of the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom and author of Censoring the Word; Feona Attwood, principal lecturer in media at Sheffield Hallam University; Deborah Hyde, Backlash; Dr Clarissa Smith, author, One for the Girls! The Pleasures and Practices of Reading Women's Porn; Mark McGowan, artist.

www.backlash-uk.org.uk
www.markmcgowan.org

Please note: There has been a change in the line-up of speakers for this talk. Originally scheduled speakers Adeola Agdebiyi and Hammad Khan, from the British Board of Film Classification, have withdrawn because they felt that, as the legislation being discussed in this talk part of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill) is currently before Parliament, it is not appropriate for the BBFC to comment about it.

£10 / £9 Concessions / £8 ICA Members.

What did you think of Spirit + Flesh UK?

Thanks to everyone who came to the Spirit + Flesh UK events a couple of weeks ago. It was great to meet some of you there.

Spirit + Flesh UK was created to make Fakir's work accessible at different levels, and to give a complete picture of his remarkable 60-year journey. As such, it is particularly valuable for us to get feedback from those who attended more than one event during the tour.

If you attended 2 events or more, we would be very grateful if you could take a few minutes to complete an evaluation. The evaluation form is available to download and is painlessly short.

If you are able to do this please download the form, complete it and send it back to participate@fakirtour.com as soon as you can. We are hoping to get as much feedback as possible by this Friday 15th June, as we will be preparing a report on the programme next week.

Thanks in advance for your help and support with this.

Justin & the FakirTour team

Spirit + Flesh UK is generously supported by

Last minute places

Spirit + Flesh got off to a flying start on Friday with a magnificent suspension performance led by Fakir & Cleo at Torture Garden. For those of you who missed it, there are some beautiful photos online here. We will be putting together video and photo documentation in the coming weeks, and will let you know when it is on the website.

Meanwhile here's a quick update on ticket availability for the other events this week:

TODAY - PERFORMANCE AND PARTICIPATION ROUND-TABLE
As is common with free events, a few people have dropped out of the round-table. As a result there may be a handful of spaces available on the night.

If you would still like to attend this event, please arrive at Queen Mary, University of London as early as possible. The event starts at 6.30pm.

TOMORROW - SAFE PIERCING FOR PERFORMANCE MASTERCLASS
There are still a few spaces left at this workshop, and we have some exciting news. At the end of the 2nd workshop Elwood (Fakir's most experienced student) will be suspended for the first time ever. This is not something you want to miss!

To book places online please visit the International Workshop Festival website or call them on 020 7091 9666.

THURSDAY - AN AUDIENCE WITH FAKIR & CLEO
All advance tickets for this event have sold but there will be about 15 tickets available on the door. These will be released at 6pm on the evening of the performance.

As well as a great chance to hear both Fakir & Cleo talk about their work in their own unique way, this event also includes the beautiful White Bird performance, featuring Cleo and TJ Burleigh.

Again, we recommend arriving early to avoid disappointment.

FRIDAY / SATURDAY - RITUALISTIC PIERCING EXPERIENCE
This event is now completely full, but there is a chance that someone will drop out at the last minute. The latest we can accept applications for this event is 5pm on Thursday. If you still want to take part, please complete the Call for Participants and you will be contacted if a space becomes free.

Justin & the FakirTour team

TG Birthday Weekend - Body Probe at Red Pill/Blue Pill - Friday 18 May

Only a week to go!

There's only a week to go until Spirit + Flesh UK. I hope you are as excited as we are! Some events are fully booked now, but there are still places at:

FRIDAY 18th MAY - PERFORMANCE AT TG BODY PROBE
At Torture Garden Body Probe we will perform Initiation, a unique suspension ritual performance never performed in the UK before. This piece has been created by Fakir, Cleo Dubois, TJ Burleigh and Elwood, and also features Purple Sandy, Lee Adams, Kamelyan and Justin Allen (Switch Theatre).

Do not miss this exciting performance, which is Fakir's only public suspension performance during the tour. Tickets are available online at the Torture Garden website.

WEDNESDAY 23rd MAY - SAFE PIERCING FOR PERFORMANCE MASTERCLASS
Fakir and his most experienced student Elwood lead two masterclasses on Safe Piercing for Performance. This is a rare opportunity to learn directly from two of the world's most renowned piercers.

The workshops will take place on Wednesday 23rd May at Corsica Studios (Elephant & Castle)

Level 1: Skin Piercing – 4pm to 6pm
Level 2: Hook Pull and Suspension – 7pm to 9pm

Tickets: £30 per class or £50 if you book both classes.

This workshop is filling up fast, over 60% of places are booked already. Online booking is now available through the snazzy new International Workshop Festival website.

FRI 25th / SAT 26th MAY - RITUALISTIC PIERCING EXPERIENCE
It is worth getting onto the reserve list if you still want to take part in the Piercing Experience. Although all places have been offered, there are a few people who haven't paid their participation fee. A place is only confirmed once payment has been received, and the deadline for these participants is the end of this week.

If you would like to participate, please complete the Call for Participants and send it back to us as soon as possible.

Depending on who drops out, there may be a couple of general concessions available at £120. These concessionary places (sponsored by the London Alternative Market) are for those on low income.

That's all for now - more updates to follow shortly. Have a good weekend.

Justin & the FakirTour team

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Spirit + Flesh UK is generously supported by

Update on tickets for all events

FRIDAY 18th MAY - PERFORMANCE AT TG BODY PROBE
The first event is Initiation, a unique suspension ritual performance never performed in the UK before. This piece has been created by Fakir, Cleo Dubois, TJ Burleigh and Elwood, and also features Purple Sandy, Lee Adams, Kamelyan and Justin Allen (Switch Theatre). This is Fakir's only public suspension performance during the Spirit + Flesh UK tour.

Tickets are now available online at the Torture Garden website.

MONDAY 21st MAY - GET PIERCED BY FAKIR
While he is here Fakir is offering 5 private piercing sessions at Cold Steel in Camden. Two of these slots has already been filled and we have had a lot of interest in the other sessions. To find out more or book a slot please check out the FakirTour website.

TUESDAY 22nd MAY - ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
This event is now fully booked

WEDNESDAY 23rd MAY - SAFE PIERCING FOR PERFORMANCE MASTERCLASS
We are just finalising the details for this event and tickets will be on sale in the next few days. As soon as they are available you will receive an update via the mailing list with full details.

THURSDAY 24th MAY - AN AUDIENCE WITH FAKIR & CLEO
Tickets are selling fast for this event, and it is extremely likely to sell out in advance. To book tickets go to the Chelsea Theatre website.

FRI 25th / SAT 26th MAY - RITUALISTIC PIERCING EXPERIENCE
We only have a handful of places left for this event. If you would like to participate please complete the Call for Participants and send it back to us as soon as possible.

There are still concessionary places available for this event:

Artists concessions - there is 1 space left for a UK-based artist who want to participate
General concessions - there are 6 spaces available for those with low income. To be eligible for these concessions (sponsored by the London Alternative Market) you must complete the Call for Participants by Sunday 15th April

We highly recommend booking in advance for all events, as it looks very likely at this stage that they will all be sold out.

Justin & the FakirTour team

Spirit + Flesh UK is generously supported by

Performance & Participation round-table fully booked

We have had an overwhelming response to last week's announcement of the line-up for the round-table discussion at Queen Mary. The event was fully booked and a reserve list of 30 people drawn up within 24 hours. Sorry if you didn't get a place.

There are still tickets available for An Audience with Fakir & Cleo at the Chelsea Theatre on Thursday 24th May. To find out more about this event, please visit the FakirTour website. To book tickets for this event, please visit the Chelsea Theatre website.

Spirit + Flesh UK is generously supported by