Victorian College of the Arts - Research Publications

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Author: Just, Kathleen × Start date: 2020 × End date: 2022 ×

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    Self Care Action
    Just, K (Beechworth Contemporary Art Award, 2022-09-15)
    Self Care Action is an ongoing series of 20 hand-knitted panels bearing texts relating to self-care. The project explores how self-care has its roots in radical activism. As a term, it dates to the US based civil rights and women’s rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Each work operates a simple reminder that I consider crucial for my own emotional survival and resilience. It is also an invitation to others to imagine how they might prioritise caring for themselves and the personal and political implications of self care, particularly for women. The knitted Self Care Action panels are all the same size. They are brightly coloured and deploy the same rounded font. These simple design elements underscore the optimism of the project and the clarity of the actions. Actions from the series include: Ask for help, Stay Present, Switch Off Your Phone, Love Yourself, Make Art, Get Into Nature, Feel Your Feelings, Get Therapy, and Say No. The works were shared on Instagram via @katejustknits and using the #katejustselfcareaction with images of each work, pictures of me holding each sign up, and text about each self-care prompt. The work considers how in a political climate in which women's rights are being challenged and threatened, war is being waged around the globe, and a pandemic is unfolding, how art and conversation around self care can provide a mode of resistance and resilience. The fact that the works are knitting further amplifies the potential to use craft as a medium to explore and cultivate ideas of care. The Beechworth Contemporary Art Award was a competitive award in which only ten finalists were selected, attesting to the works significance. Knitting events held during the presentation of this work at Beechworth were well attended by the public. Radio interview on 94.9 Maine FM shared the project more widely. The work will continue to be developed to a major presentation of 45 works at Linden Gallery in March 2023, and then be included in a curated exhibition of textile artists at Hugo Michell Gallery in July 2023. Interest from Shepparton Art Museum and Tamworth Textile Triennial further attest to the works' relvance at this time. The work was funded by an Australia Council Fellowship, a prestigious art award that goes to one visual artist in Australia each year.