Reflections on the CCC Symposium 
Mon Sisu Satrawaha มอ่ น ศศิุสาตราวาหะ 
2024

In the aftermath of my participation in the Curating through Conflict with Care (CCC) symposium, from time to time, I still look back and reminisce about the dialogue among fellow participants prior to the symposium’s final session. If I remember it correctly, as we shared the outcomes of our group discussions, we transitioned into a spirited debate about the feasibility of articulating our aspirations to institutions and effecting transformative change. The symposium’s attendees hailed from a variety of backgrounds and geographies, but funnily enough the conflicts we go through are universal. 

Amid these discussions, the notion of solidarity and potential unionization emerged, prompting inquiries about the beneficiaries of such unity and whether this idealistic impulse can reconcile with the inherently capitalist nature of the art world. 

I left the CCC symposium with inspiration and lots of questions. The undercurrent of care was evident, but somehow it became complicated to make care practical while conflicts are so easy to occur. I tried to visualize care – a term often laden with commercialized imagery of embraces and kind gestures. People holding each other, a mom looking at their child with loving eyes, hotel staff welcoming you with their smiles, a medical team healing sick people. Is the demonstration of care contingent upon physical expressions? Can genuine care be adequately conveyed through verbal utterances? These musings encouraged a tentative willingness to explore new dimensions of care. 

When it comes to strategies, the institutionalized practice of care seems to be further away from actually being care. Power imbalances and deceptive facades tarnish its sincerity. However, there were some actions happening for a while – demands for equitable compensation, inclusive accessibility for marginalized groups (BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, differently-abled individuals), and fostering interdependencies among humans and the non-human sphere. These demands have persisted across time, from pre-pandemic eras to the present day, underlining the recurrent need for progress. 

Though it may sound quite grim: I see it as a good sign that we do agree that these are the issues we need to recognise. As Zhang Tian mentioned in her manifesto which resonated during our readings, the journey towards nurturing a “care economy” necessitates the set and respect of boundaries. Empowering the care we need an unwavering commitment to both reciting care and staunchly opposing injustice. While systemic unionization might appear constraining, an organic approach can be an option. It may start by asking a simple yet profound question: “How are you?”, conversations during meal sharing, or participating in the symposium. In hope that these small steps would integrate into a more harmonic caring artistic ecosystem.

References 

Ndikung, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng, The Delusions of Care (Berlin 2021).

von Bismarck, Beatrice, and Meyer-Krahmer, Benjamin (eds.), Cultures of the Curatorial 3: Hospitality. Hosting Relations in Exhibitions (Berlin 2015). 

k\are (Habraschka, Agnieszka, and von Matt, Mia), “Collective Care Manifesto” in Elke Krasny, Sophie Lingg, Lena Fritsch et al. (eds.), Radicalizing Care. Feminist and Queer Activism in Curating (London/Wien 2021), pp. 92-97. 

Zhang, Tian, “A manifesto for radical care or how to be a human in the arts” in Sydney Review of Books, July 2022, https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/essay/a-manifesto-for-radical-care-or-how-to-be-a-human-in-the-arts/ (accessed April 4, 2024).