CA21102 - Toolkit of Care (TOC)

The Covid-19 pandemic has further exacerbated existent inequalities worldwide. The cultural sector, which is very often described as precarious work, is one of the worst hit. The arts have been particularly hit hard by the pandemic in Inclusiveness Target, and Near Neighbour, countries, where governments provide minimal, if at all, financial support to creative practitioners and NGOs. More than just affecting the cultural production of these particular countries, there are international ramifications in that the rest of the world is also denied easy access to creative/technological advances and innovation that still takes place in the former – in other academic or other contexts. It is, then, especially relevant and timely to form critical networks of care within the creative industry of support communities.
An interdisciplinary group of creative practitioners, academics, researchers and arts/crafts organisations that specialise in creative technologies and that have considerable experience in the production and dissemination of this kind of knowledge across Europe and internationally, have come together to form a “critical network of care”. The Action’s network will collaborate to share their collective expertise and technical knowledge employed in creative ways to develop knowledge and methodologies of care. The main aim is to produce a well formulated and integrated TOOLKIT OF CARE and comprising articles, prototypes, audiovisual documentation, technical manuals, theoretical analysis, prototypes, and data. It will act as a model of how to successfully share knowledge and expertise across different geographical regions and social groups.