A new look at care

The programme of talks, films and workshops at Fabrica in Brighton – entitled ‘Intensive Care’ – accompanies ‘Care(less)’, a virtual reality installation produced by British artist Lindsay Seers with input from Brighton academics led by Dr Lizzie Ward of the Centre for Arts and Wellbeing. Its aim is to highlight and explore our relationship with caring.  

‘Care(less)’ runs at Fabrica in Brighton until 24 November, when it heads to Lincoln and later Birmingham. Funded by the Wellcome Trust, the project seeks to explore the value of meaning and care in human relationships.

The events taking place as part of ‘Intensive Care’ include a discussion called ‘Conversation Piece – Feminism and Care’ on Wednesday 23 October, led by University of Brighton doctoral candidate Elona Hoover of the Centre for Spatial, Environmental and Cultural Politics.

The topics that will be covered include compassionate resistance, radical care and autonomising care as a collective practice.

Looking ahead to the event, Elona said: “I think this discussion is important because it emphasises the ethical and political nature of care as a set of ideas and practices.

Elona Hoover

“Feminist approaches to care emphasise the need to constantly question how care is framed, reclaiming it from either idealised meanings (for instance of the caring mother) or neoliberal appropriation of individualised care (which the exhibition is critiquing), as a radical and collective praxis.

“I'm looking forward to having this discussion with the Care(less) exhibition around us, giving concrete contexts for our collective questionings. I am also looking forward to sharing some of the knowledge I have gained through my research in thinking and practising with care.”

Other discussions include: ‘Who’s taking care of the artist?’ and ‘Compassionate resistance, can radical acts of care challenge an inhuman system?’

Young people (7-12) have a chance to explore the theme of care in the creative writing workshop ‘When I’m 64…’ presented in partnership with Little Green Pig, while Lindsay Seers will give a presentation about her work.