TJFest: Support, Don't Punish

Abolition is as much a project of collective re-imagination, experimentation and creation as it is a project of dismantling oppressive systems of surveillance and punishment. It is equal parts hope and rage, with space for both despair and dreaming, protest and play, resistance and rebuilding. This is the spirit we hope to capture in the second edition of TJFest — “Support, Don’t Punish.” Between 17th to 20th July 2025, we will have experiential workshops, collective art-making, storytelling, music, poetry, talks, activity booths, panel discussions, a dance party, and community conversations over food and drink.

We will explore: Why does oppression exist? How are our cultures shaped by the ruling elite to perpetuate our oppression? How are words like justice and rehabilitation weaponized to justify policing and punishment? Who has lost too much, and how do we honour the injustices they have suffered?

With love, tenderness, and hope, we will dare to live: what are our deepest longings and our most audacious dreams for connection, abundance, safety, and care? What capacities do we hold and aspire to build to nourish ourselves and each other? And how do we start building this gentler future together?

TJFest — for freedom, for dream-building, for a glimpse of possible futures. Come and play.

These sessions require additional registration in the Eventbrite order form:

• Sat, 19 July, 2 - 4pm: Voices from Death Row
• Sun, 20 July, 1-3.30pm: Transformative Justice Practices: Turning Towards Each Other