Exhibition organised by State of Concept Athens, in collaboration with the G. & A. Mamidakis Foundation, WHW, Idensitat, and CNMFPP.
State of Concept is proud to announce the opening of the group exhibition Care Ecologies, on Wednesday 10 July at 19:00, part of the ongoing project CARE ECOLOGIES, a collaboration among the G. & A. Mamidakis Foundation, What, How & for Whom / WHW, Idensitat, and the Centre of New Media and Feminist Public Practices / CNMFPP.
The opening will be flagged by an open discussion and presentation led by the G. & A. Mamidakis Foundation, starting at 21:00. Aiming to further explore and expand on the themes of the exhibition, offering deeper insights into the ongoing dialogue surrounding care in contemporary society, the eight fellows of the G & A Mamidakis Foundation 2023 residency programme will be presenting a new edited volume comprising new texts following the second residency which took place in Agios Nikolaos, Crete, in October 2023.
Exhibition Duration: 10.07.2024 – 14.09.2024, open by appointment.
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Care Ecologies explores how care manifests in contemporary society, prompting a collective re-examination of cultural practices as acts of care. Featuring works by Adelita Husni-Bey, Fokus grupa, Hana Miletić, Theo Prodromidis, and Idensitat, it examines the notion of reclaiming care as a crucial strategy which could potentially be applicable in wider social contexts – care as solidarity and sustainability, care and the environment, care as a building capacity for wellbeing, care in education, the sharing of resources and knowledge, care as a mending mechanism for fragile social structures.
Hana Miletić’s series Materials highlights the subtle yet significant acts of care within urban environments. Her textile installations reflect the city’s physical and social spaces. Miletić’s hand-woven textile works capture the transient repairs and modifications in public spaces, advocating for a slower, more mindful approach to the relentless pace of modern life.
Fokus grupa’s ongoing project, Vedutas from the Palace of the Privileged Company of Trieste and Rijeka, delves into historical care, examining the hidden labour of slaves in Rijeka’s industrial past. Through their critical exploration of these “idealised” landscapes, Fokus grupa brings attention to the often-overlooked contributions and exploitation that underpin historical and contemporary economic systems.
Adelita Husni-Bey’s On Necessary Work addresses the concept of care in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Developed in collaboration with unionised nurses, this project documents workshops where participants reflect on the designation of ‘necessary work’ and its implications. The resulting video installations capture personal narratives and critical reflections on the healthcare systems’ response to the crisis, highlighting the essential yet undervalued labour of healthcare workers.
Work 30yrs1d by Theo Prodromidis explores performativity, participation and citizenship in collaboration with young cultural workers from Zagreb, Croatia. 30yrs1d started as an exploration of the processes for the production of citizenship in the last 30 years and the methods, successes and failures on how we collectively decide who acquires it and how we can support someone to claim it.
IDENSITAT’s (Un)Open Archive is a curatorial and artistic project that collects and presents diverse perspectives on care. Featuring contributions from various cultural and political activists, this project expands the notion of care to include themes such as social justice, accessibility, and collective work. By creating a platform for dialogue and reflection, (Un)Open Archive challenges traditional archival practices and fosters a deeper understanding of care in contemporary society.
The exhibition is curated by State of Concept in collaboration with Idensitat and Ana Dević & Ana Kovačić. In dialogue with the exhibition On necessary work curated by Ana Dević and Ana Kovačić, May 2024, Zagreb.
Organised by State of Concept Athens as part of the two-year project Care Ecologies in collaboration with the G. & A. Mamidakis Foundation (Greece), What, How & for Whom / WHW (Croatia), Idensitat (Spain), and the Centre of New Media and Feminist Public Practices / CNMFPP (Greece), co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.
CARE ECOLOGIES is a network based, multifaceted project between partners from Greece, Croatia, and Spain active in the fields of production of art works, promotion of contemporary art among domestic and international art audiences, fostering a robust relationship between contemporary artistic practices and social space, through research and education.
For more information about the project please visit https://carecologies.eu/en/
