Photo courtesy of Augustine O’Donoghue. Lunch event at The Lodge, The Caretakers’ Residency.

Elizabeth Woods and Kevin Leong are Australian artists, in residence at The Lodge in May and June who are working on a long-term project The Caretakers’ Residency which studies the practices and philosophies of collective care. The project follows the proposition that community members vocationally involved in collective and radical care have distinct understandings of and approaches to crises, and aims to study how these care practices shift their perceptions and aspirations. In later project stages, these studies will provide provocations for future community action and projects. 

As part of the foundational study and research, Kevin and Elizabeth are seeking to meet Collective Caretakers, and asked Common Ground to identify the broad range of extraordinary community members who undertake the skilled, difficult, and relentless work often involved in collective care.The artists are acutely aware that collective care makes unusual demands on individuals – that additional capacity can be scarce – and so, they aim to accommodate participation at any level of commitment.

If you are a collective caretaker, have an interest in the subject matter or would like to meet the artists, they will be holding open studios, workshops and interviews during their stay or may be able to arrange to meet you at a more convenient location.

Elizabeth and Kevin can be contacted through Common Ground or on their website.