April 20th to June 9th, 2024
Angela Anderson
Luïza Luz
Violet Nderaisho & Nomaswazi Mthombeni
Åsa Sonjasdotter
Concept and Curation: Rebecca Heinzelmann & Johanna Brummack
Coordination: Ekachai Eksaroj
Mediation: Franziska Weygandt
From April 20th to June 9th, 2024, Part II of the exhibition series Caring in Times of Continuous Crisis is taking part at Kasseler Kunstverein. The exhibition series is dedicated to the importance of care in personal and societal crises. While the first part of the series was focused on care and health-care-systems, the second part explores connections between care and ecology.
The invited artists, activists, and researchers work on the relations between colonial structures, planetary transition, and the climate crisis. They examine how the exploitation of labor and raw materials, the production of food, and the accumulation of capital, are interconnected. Drawing from personal narratives or extensive research endeavors, the artists have been engaging with the intertwining dynamics of care and ecology for years. Through their practices, they highlight the importance of centering the voices and knowledges of the communities that have been marginalized.
The artworks encompass a variety of mediums including sound, photography, moving images, and installations with living organisms. In this approach, ecosystems are not seen as resources but as living entities that both provide and require care. Recently, there has been more talk about the importance of caring. Especially, after the coronavirus crisis, the systemic relevance of care work has become more than obvious. However, hardly anything has changed at the practical and structural level. This raises the question of what care means in practice and who receives attention and care in times of crisis.
At its core, caring is something very common and relational. Every living being - every body - is dependent on a protected space and the care of others.[1] Following María Puig de la Bellacasa, we emphasize that mutual care is not a contract but a condition for life. [2] Through caring actions, relationships are strengthened, new connections are created, and wounds can heal. However, care relations are often characterized by frictions and hierarchies on subjective and societal levels. Acts of maintenance, care, and repair are being de-graded and rendered in-visible in capitalist and patriarchal systems, as it is easier to exploit what is perceived as un-important. Ignoring the fundamental importance of care inevitably leads to the destruction of life. Societal models that put profit above everything and disregard care contribute actively to the ongoing ecological and humanitarian disruption that the Earth is facing.
A crisis is defined as a situation that represents the climax and turning point of a dangerous development. A crisis is often described as a temporary phase from which there is a way out and from which the person or group affected can learn something. [3] But what if a crisis is not limited in time? What if it has no end in sight, or it has been going on for too long? Feminist theorist Lauren Berlant refers to such conditions as crisis ordinariness - an ordinary or everyday crisis. [4] With this term, Berlant makes it clear that crises do not necessarily happen at certain points, but can also be an ongoing, seemingly normal state.
The concept of continuous crisis can help to focus on the simultaneity and interconnection of crises and struggles: How does the exploitation of non-human organisms such as animals, plants, soil, and minerals relate to the drastic climatic changes of recent decades? How are these linked to colonial histories? What is the connection between the accumulation of capital and the breeding and patenting of food? How does a society based on performance influence the capacity for care and empathy? Why does it seem normal that the time someone spends raising children, growing food, cleaning, or repairing something is worth less than the time someone spends trading real estate or weapons? Can we still talk about climate crisis, financial crisis, and humanitarian crises or is it more adequate to speak of a planetary crisis, as all these struggles are deeply linked?
We invite you to visit this exhibition and join us on a continuous journey of exchange, (un)learning, and ecological change. In consideration of the challenges and tensions of the present, we explicitly ask you to refrain from any form of discrimination. We encourage open dialog and conversations based on attentive listening, mutual respect, and empathy.
As part of the exhibition, various public events such as guided tours, workshops, and talks will take place. Information regarding the program can be found on our website, in the newsletter, on our Instagram channel, and at the reception desk.
Statement of the artists and curators with regards to exhibiting in this current historical moment in Germany
[1] Fitz, Angelika/Krasny, Elke, eds. Critical Care. Architektur and Urbanism for a Broken Planet. Boston: MIT Press, 2019.
[2] Puig de la Bellacasa, María, Matters of Care: Speculative Ethics in More than Human Worlds, University of Minnesota Press, 2017.
[3] Schubert, Klaus/Martina Klein: Das Politiklexikon. 7. aktualisierte und erweiterte Auflage, Bonn: Dietz 2020.
[4] Berlant, Lauren, Cruel Optimism, Duke University Press, 2011.
Public formats
Opening followed by DJ Set by Icy Gee: 19.04.24 / 8 pm
Curator's Guided Tour: Sat 20.04.24 / 2 - 3:30 pm
Children's Book Reading & workshop with Selina from the storytales Festival (Children aged 6 to 10):
Sat 04.05.24 & Thu 23.05.24 / 3 - 4 pm
Public guided tour with Franziska Weygandt: Wed 01.05.24, Thu 09.05.24 & Fri 17.05.24 / 3 pm
Talk with Åsa Sonjasdotter: Sat 08.06.24 4 pm
Thank you to the Kulturamt der Stadt Kassel and Kasseler Sparkasse for the support