Carers and the cared-for invited to tell their pandemic stories through digital exhibition

A team of experts at the University of Sheffield has invited unpaid carers, care workers and those they care for to submit creative work for a digital exhibition that aims to “make care visible”.

The academics are looking for everything from photography and poetry, to favourite recipes and pieces of music that tell the stories of carers and those who need care through the Covid-19 pandemic. The chosen pieces will be displayed in an online exhibition as part of this year’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Social Science.

The exhibition will be curated by experts from the University of Sheffield’s Sustainable Care Programme – which brings together an international team of researchers to develop in-depth knowledge of how social care affects us all, and how we might be able to build better systems of care in the future.

“This exhibition is designed to give a voice to the unheard and put faces to the unseen, those people who quietly give so much of their own lives to care for others.”

professor sue yeandle, director of circle

The academics hope the exhibition will give a voice to carers and those who receive and need care, who have faced enormous challenges in staying safe and adapting to different ways of communicating and interacting with their families and communities.

Professor Sue Yeandle, Director of the Centre for International Research on Care, Labour and Equalities (CIRCLE) at the University of Sheffield, said: “One result of the Covid-19 pandemic has been a focus of attention on the lives of unpaid carers, care workers and those who receive support. We think we have an opportunity, and a responsibility, to keep those people and their experiences at the centre of public consciousness as we begin to rebuild.

“Academic research in this area is crucial to help inform policy makers and social care professionals about the very real challenges the system faces as the world’s population ages. But it is just as important that we all see and hear from carers and the cared-for. Their experiences and voices too often get drowned out as others seek solutions to the challenges of their daily lives.

“This exhibition is designed to give a voice to the unheard and put faces to the unseen, those people who quietly give so much of their own lives to care for others.”

Even if they have never created art before, carers and those who need care are invited to submit all kinds of entries to tell their stories, including but not limited to:

• Photographs
• Drawings/paintings/illustrations
• Poems
• Short stories
• Recipes that you cook for a loved one to bring particular comfort
• Pieces of music or favourite songs, with a note of why they are so important to you

Participants are asked to ensure they have the consent of anyone featured in their submission and keep in mind that the pieces will be on public display. There will be options to anonymise entries. Submissions can be made via https://sites.google.com/view/hereinthemorning/home before 20 September 2020.