#SafetyNet: Artist-in-Residence
Photograph: Zoe Angelise
#SafetyNet was a week-long Artist-in-Residency project funded by and in partnership with Chester Sexual Abuse Support Services (CSASS), at an empty-shop unit in Ellesmere Port.
The residency in September 2021, explored what or who had supported people during their life, with particular emphasis on the Covid-19 Pandemic. What had provided support and who had been a safety net for whom?
Across the residency, I help space for large and intimate public conversations and workshops alongside a host of micro creative tasks for visitors to participate in when visiting the empty shop; generating a number of temporary installations that shone a light on the topic of safety nets.
The design, facilitation and co-created processes embodied within the residency were built on my socially-engaged practice. Following the residency and the analysis of data captured and the creative ideas tested, I am keen to develop this project further, ideally collaborating with a Textile Artist and Light Artist to create a piece of artwork for outdoor settings.
Why Safety Nets?
There are times in our life when we all come to rely on someone, or something, to catch us when things go wrong. Sometimes this is family or friends; sometimes this is a community, a local charity, a job, savings, access to education, welfare, a neighbour or the NHS.
During COVID-19 those people who thought they were beyond needing a safety net have had to re-evaluate their assumptions, as all sections of society have been impacted. At the same time, established safety nets have been revealed to be inadequate. Additionally, individuals and
CSASS are a Chester-based charity working across Cheshire West, supporting people in crisis and survivors coming to terms with sexual violence. They are a safety net for many people who reach out and are a critical resource for people across Cheshire and N. Wales, including Ellesmere Port. One of the achieved outcomes of the residency was to raise the charities profile in the local area, which was evidenced through the increase in local referrals for tgheir support services.
