Brotherflow workshop series #1 - Masculinity in Flow

Kunstinstituut Melly & Brotherflow is proud to present a free workshop series in October & November for men and male-identifying individuals. This Laboratory for New Masculinities is a 4-part somatic workshop series exploring how masculinity can transform when we soften, feel, and listen. Each session is led by a different practitioner with a distinct lens on embodiment, playfulness and connection with masculine energy.

The program:

October 26th - Session #1

November 16th - Session #2

November 23rd - Session #3

November 30th - Session #4

About this session #1:

This workshop arises from the need to question masculinity beyond traditional models. Rather than offering therapy, this space functions as a playground or laboratory, that offers support and community where participants can explore, question, and play with different expressions of masculinity. Through movement and dialogue, we aim to generate shared reflections that allow expansion, freedom and empowerment. This first module consists of two blocks:

Block 1: Decoding Masculinity

In this workshop, we use éducation populaire a French emancipatory methodology and non-formal learning process that encourages critical and collective thinking. Through debate and group reflection, we question masculinity from multiple dimensions: personal, cultural, and social. There are no lectures or presentations, just dialogue, exchange, and shared critical thinking.

[Break]

Block 2: Pivot, Adapt, Flow

In this workshop, we use the Flying Low dance technique to practice how to stay grounded, pivot with ease, and move through change. It’s about finding flow in your body (and in life) so you can adapt with confidence and stay connected no matter what comes your way.

About Brotherflow:

Brotherflow is a laboratory for new masculinities. It is a place of co-creation where dance, ritual, somatics, and emotional truth come together to unlearn, heal, and experiment.

Brotherflow as a collective is a brotherhood and healing movement responding to the crisis of masculinity. While society increasingly recognizes the harm of toxic and patriarchal masculinities, there are still very few spaces where men and those socialized as men can explore new, healthy expressions of masculine energy in a holistic and embodied way. This is our calling as artists, facilitators, and people with lived experience. We use art to create the spaces we wish we had: spaces of softness, honesty, and transformation.

We are not here to define the perfect man. We invite multiplicity. We explore masculinities that flow, shift, and evolve, that honor feminine energy, and that are rooted in care instead of control.

Our collective is grounded in three core values: strength in softness, playful explorations and loving accountability. We play to unlock joy and loosen shame. We hold each other accountable with compassion, not punishment. We create space to express grief, anger, and frustration, while offering softness for sadness, loneliness, and disconnection. We are a wolf pack of loyalty and care, protecting the wounded until they are ready to rise again. Then we keep exploring, with curiosity and wonder.

The facilitators:

Luis Bracamontes

Luis (he/they) an award-winning queer Mexican spoken word performer, movement artist, and certified transformational coach, based in Rotterdam.

He is the founder of Unwanted Words, an award-winning platform for emerging LGBTQ+ poets in the Netherlands and the creator of the Queer & Feminist Poetry Awards and Anthology. Luis’s creative work explores queer joy, intimacy, grief, and spirituality through a decolonial and intersectional lens, often weaving together embodiment, storytelling, and emotional healing. As a certified yoga teacher by the Rishikesh Yoga Association in India and social innovation facilitator by College Lillaebelt in Denmark, Luis blends strategic vision with grassroots activism, storytelling, somatic movement work, and decolonial artistic practices.

Javier Larios

Javier Larios, originally from Mexico and based in Paris, defines himself as a creativist — combining creativity and strategy as a powerful tool for positive change and justice.

Javier has worked as a graphic designer, illustrator, communication professional, and workshop facilitator with international organisations including UNESCO, EU-funded initiatives, and European youth networks. Having lived in Europe for nearly a decade, in France and Belgium, and collaborated on projects across Latin America, Europe, and Asia, he brings an multicultural perspective and holistic approach to his work.

Javier believes that stories, colours, community, and even quirky little cartoons can make the world a bit more joyful, a little more human, and definitely more just and fair.