Who Cares?

Who Cares?

Venue: Newark Works • BA2 3DZ
Opening night: 6pm until late • Fri 24 May 2024
Open 11am - 6pm daily • 25 May to 8 June 2024
Fully accessible, for full details see map : fringeartsbath.co.uk/map

WHO CARES? brings together works by twelve artists who represent different corners and perspectives of care. The work of these artists examines what it means to provide paid or unpaid care, from parenthood, to teaching, to housework and how this reality informs their artistic practice. WHO CARES? invites us to consider what it means to be an artist today, one with caregiving responsibilities.

Care has historically been devalued and rendered invisible, our attention brought to it only when we notice when it has been withdrawn or is lacking. WHO CARES? brings to light the indispensable role of care in today’s society and seeks to celebrate the multiple forms it can take. The work of these artists considers the many ways we can define care - as a joy, as a burden, as work, as affection, as a duty or as something we just do.

By bringing together artists who draw on lived independant experiences of care, WHO CARES? invites us to view their works conversation with each other, reconsidering care as a collective act, encouraging solidarity and shedding light on these practices that have been kept in the dark for so long. Drawing on historical narratives of care, from myths of motherhood to ‘labours of love’, WHO CARES? brings to light the invisible acts of care hidden behind the walls of the home. Each artwork represents the complex, multi-faceted reality of what it means to care, celebrating the lived experiences of the people who care.

Exhibiting Artists:
Ruth Batham, Jacqui Barrowcliffe, Courtney Beckett, Delpha Hudson, Elina Medley, Sophia Nasif, Nelson, Helen Sargeant, Aashna Singh, Corrina Thornton, Hazel Tomlinson, Charlotte Warne Thomas.

Curated by Hannah Bowles

Hannah Bowles is an independent curator from Cambridge, based in London. She was awarded with an MFA in Curating at Goldsmiths in 2022.

Hannah’s research and work focuses on themes of social reproductive feminisms, care and socially engaged practice. Her previous projects include (M)otherwise at the Women’s Art Library and playgrounding at Goldsmiths Nursery as well as contributed writing to Hettie Judah’s 'How not to exclude artist mothers (and other parents). '

Insta @ha.bowles