COLLECTIVE CARE

With Sheelasha Rajbhandari from Artree Nepal

Do radical rest and collective care counter systems that are built to exhaust us?

Our histories have been erased and manipulated, our people carry intergenerational traumas in their bodies, our intellectuality and aesthetics have been tokenized, we are tired of the politics of “inclusive culture”. Our ancestors fought so that we could have the privilege of life itself, and now it’s our turn. We too need to continue this energy, for the future, where our people are free from oppression and can live with dignity.

But where does care fit in in what seems like a never ending struggle?

Yes we are burnt-out, we are tired of struggling actively, not only with the system, but also among people we love and respect. We are perpetually on the verge of collapse, in what becomes a cycle of self-harm.

And within this struggle how do we contextualize our own differences? As a Newa cis-woman from Kathmandu, I hold certain positions of power and privileges that need to be deconstructed. How do we build solidarities that are authentic and aware of the power differentials within our communities as well?

There are legitimate questions that have been at the heart of Indigenous, Black, Dalit, feminist and queer movements.

We need time to answer and address these questions that truly matter. Yet we also face constant demands to explain ourselves to people who will never truly listen to us. Why do we always need to react? In this position radical rest may serve as a political tool to allow us to be gentler to ourselves. This is particularly important in our contemporary world where there is an inherent patriarchal and capitalist structure that continues to exploit our labor. At times, our activism and efforts themselves become victim to this system that is designed to wear us out.

Who benefits from our exhaustion, anxieties, fear, and depression? It is not a coincidence that many of our activist friends are subjected to emotional manipulation, constant mental health pressures, and extended periods of self doubt. In our valid efforts to fight, are we forgetting to love, sleep, listen, and heal?

While there are more questions here than answers, I believe that discussions centered consciously around these acts of caring, and ultimately healing, are necessary to rebuild our energies and dedicate our creative forces to things we deem worthy of our time.

Monday, November 7th &
Monday, November 21st
4:00pm - 5:00 pm
Via Zoom (link on registration)

REGISTER HERE <<

Sheelasha Rajbhandari is an artist, curator, cultural organizer, and founding member of the artist collective, Artree Nepal based in Kathmandu.

ArTree Nepal was formed in 2013 in Kathmandu by five artists from diverse indigenous backgrounds. Using grassroots interventions, their practice actively counters hierarchical social structures of religion, caste, class, and gender, while questioning the nature of authoritarian governance, even in modern democracies. The collective has also focused on deconstructing the processes of internal and external colonization in Nepali history, which is obfuscated in mainstream narratives. Simultaneously, the group has drawn attention to the increasing relationship between globalization and the exploitation of Nepali migrant workers, a link which has become a fundamental lifeline of the Nepali economy. ArTree furthermore operates on egalitarian values, which includes sharing finances, spaces, materials, and decisions amongst all the artists of the collective.

This two-part workshop is part of H_ME W_RK's Kēl Kehel series that's supported by Creative Victoria.