James will speak about his work on the concept of ‘care aesthetics’ – that is how the experience of care has embodied, sensory and crafted elements. While this idea can be applied to the work of a health care worker, a museum curator or a choreographer, the talk will discuss the relation between care aesthetics, the arts and education. How might artists and educators create experiences of care in their work? What are the implications for arts projects, educational programmes and their participants and the communities in which they live? A focus on care, and how it might become better crafted and more equitable, has become even more urgent in light of the inequalities in care made apparent by the Covid pandemic, and then more recently in response to the war in Ukraine and the ‘cost of living’ crisis that has ensued. The lecture will use examples from James’ practice and the practice of other artists and care workers to present a case for more artfully careful ways of working in a range of educational and community settings.

Roundtable 18:30

After the lecture and Q&A, we will host a discussion on arts projects in response to the current crisis, focusing on projects with communities fleeing conflict and war. All are invited to share experiences and explore the dilemmas faced when doing this work. James will offer reflections on his experience in developing programmes for migrant and refugee communities in international war zones.