Scores for Caregiving

Scores for Caregiving is part of Alecia Neo’s ongoing research, Care Index.

*Between Earth and Sky was developed in collaboration with movement artists Sharda Harrison, Ajuntha Anwari, and group of caregivers in Singapore.

I. Workshop
26 Feb | 2pm – 4.30pm
Limited capacity. Registration based on first-come-first-served basis.

What does the weight of caregiving look like? Whose weight do we bear? Can we share it?

Between Earth and Sky connects the physicality of care work with personally choreographed forms of body movement, working with the movements and perspectives of a community of caregivers for persons with mental illness. The caregivers in this project are primary caregivers of their family members; each had to make significant changes to their lives to bear the weight of care work.

During this workshop, participants will gain insights into the complexity of performing care labour through listening to each caregiver’s lived experiences and learning the body movements choreographed by each caregiver. Through guided creative prompts, each participant will be invited to map out the caregiving roles and relationships that they are involved in.

Note to workshop participants: Please dress in comfortable clothes for ease of movement. Participants are encouraged to visit MENTAL: Colours of Wellbeing exhibition, featuring Between Earth and Sky, before the workshop begins.

II. Participatory Installation
26 Feb | 5pm – 6pm
Free admission

What does caregiving mean for me? What are the gestures of care that I practise every day?

Step into a fabric installation, featuring patchwork simulacra of human skins. You are invited to witness and partake in the sharing of stories of caregiving and care gestures within the installation space. In response to your sharing and movements, live sounds and music will be performed by sound artist Clarence Chung.

Textual prompts will be provided on site to guide your participation.

Workshop Co-facilitators and Collaborating Artists

Alecia Neo
Alecia is an artist and cultural worker, developing long-term projects that involve collaborations with individuals and communities. Her socially engaged practice unfolds primarily through lens-based media and participatory artworks that address modes of radical hospitality and care labour.

Alvyna Han
Alvyna is a person-in-recovery and a caregiver to herself. She sees herself as an avid learner and is currently a Programme Manager at Caregivers Alliance Limited (CAL) for the Caregivers-to-Caregivers Training Programme.

Carol Ee
Carol is a mother of two and a full-time worker. She is also a caregiver to her child and is a volunteer with Caregivers Alliance Limited (CAL).

Frank M
Frank is a staff at Caregivers Alliance Limited (CAL) who reaches out to connect with caregivers of loved ones with mental health issues and Dementia.

Nur Hidayah
Being the pillar of support to her family of origin, Hidayah who has been married for the past two years is still learning how to navigate her life post-marriage; in her role as a secondary caregiver to her brother, daughter to her mother, and wife and daughter in law to her family of creation. She considers herself a struggling writer, as she works towards realising her passion in writing and storytelling.

Clarence Chung
Clarence is a sound designer and music composer for art experiences, film and performances.

Clarence's goal in all his projects is to bring out the multiplicity of imperceptible feelings and highly transient human experiences.

About MENTAL’s Closing Programmes (18 – 26 Feb)

As MENTAL: Colours of Wellbeing exhibition draws to a close, join us to explore notions of care, consider different methods of repair and healing, and learn empathy in ways that we are not otherwise used to.

MENTAL’s closing programmes line-up includes Scores for Caregiving workshop and participatory installation by artist Alecia Neo, Dying to Write generative writing workshop with writer-editor Clara Chow, Embracing Music for a Healthier Future talk by Kat Agres (Founding Director of the Centre for Music and Health at YST Conservatory, NUS), and Let's Unpack This conversational card games with social enterprise Happiness Initiative.