Possibilities of Co-Existence

In the wake of self-care becoming selfish individualism, art being used as a commodity and class symbol, and right-wing governments gaining power again, creating time and space for mutual exchange and reciprocal support is a necessary gesture of resistance. 

Possibilities of Co-Existence is the attempt to generate such a space, articulated in a series of workshops aiming at generating conversations on care, community, and belonging together. In this process, I invite to use photographs, drawings, and writing to visualise each participant’s ‘care network.’ Successively, we create connections between the individual care networks by conveying our different points of view on them.

A ‘care network’ is not a static concept, but the way we describe it is tightened to the individual experience. Nevertheless, it always relates to the simple fact that we cannot live and survive without others around us. This is why I find it important to create a space to celebrate these connections, through dialogue and sharing.

Further, fostering discussion about our belonging together, and about sharing resources, contributes to shaping political responsibility in each individual. Holding a space for collectivity to happen goes beyond providing hard infrastructure, and includes acknowledging the importance of the process. It comprises a commitment to be present and to hear. This dynamic contributes to activating a care network between the participants themselves.

So far the workshops have been hosted in private spaces, in my studio, in a public library, and in exhibition spaces. In collaboration with Not Just A Collective, Possibilities of Co-Existence has been part of Not Just A Fair and the exhibition Questions of Cohabitation during FDFA, Arnhem. In The Hague, it has been part of Unstill at the Royal Academy of Art and the artist-run exhibition In Times of Trouble We Dream with Open Eyes, at Grey Space in the Middle. In June 2024 it was part of the group exhibition 00:05:59 at Paradiso in Den Haag, in July it took part in the feedback circle and exhibition Trial & Errrorrr curated by Waiting Snake in the form of the reading space Readings of Co-Existence.