Project Overview
Stories of Care is a project that captures and amplifies the stories of Filipinx/a/o care workers and the impact of the pandemic on them. Built on individual stories, relationships, and trust, the project explores themes of employment, unemployment, family, grief, healing, community, and resilience.
Project Description & Outcomes
This project is built on individual stories, relationships and trust. The work is centred on acts of self-care as parts of community care and the ever-growing tension between advocating and being grateful for what they have.
“This project, as well as many others in the past year, has made me begin to explore and learn more about trauma-informed design practices. Up until a few years ago, I believed it was enough to integrate community development and people-centred design practices and tools together to do this work. I no longer think that is true. Especially in communities that are already over surveyed and over-researched in colonial ways, I think it is extremely important to be critical of the approaches that are recognized and celebrated as innovative. This project was built on relationships and trust, the stories that were shared on paper were not the same as the ones shared verbally or confidentially. As a designer, researcher and project lead, it is my job to keep their stories safe until the individuals are ready to share them. Sharing a story under duress is a tool of colonization and can be retraumatizing.”
– Jenn Chan
Through an opportunity with the 2021 DesignTO festival, we were able to extend the reach and impact of this work through the collaborative work of 3 Filipinx artists and the stories of 5 Filipina care workers.
‘Stories of Care’ is a collaborative project presented by the Department of Imaginary Affairs. The project would not be possible without the vulnerability, joy, generosity of time and care for the community that has been shared by Leny Rose, Ollie Dela Cruz, Gretchen Mangahas, Elda Almario, Elvin Velasco, Carmina Miana, Mary Joy Pascua and Lilibeth Galapon. ‘Stories of Care’ is made in tribute to the Filipinx caregivers and migrant workers we have lost in 2020.
This zine was created by workshop participants who attended Cultivating Care. Cultivating Care are bilingual writing workshops for Filipinx/a/o care workers, facilitated by Justine Abigail Yu, founder & editor-in-chief at Living Hyphen.
Do you want to play this game with your team? Contact us.
What we Practiced
- Telling the Truth
- Holding & Metabolizing Contradictions
- Practicing Curiosity
What we Imagined
A world where care workers are honoured, not extracted from — where their stories are held with dignity, shared on their own terms, and recognized as essential not only to the households they serve, but to the broader fabric of community life.