Decentralised networks of care

https://www.neme.org/blog/dmc-press

On Saturday and Sunday, 18-19 April 2026, we invite you to join us for Decentralised networks of care, a series of engaging and topical talks followed by open discussions, about the role of NGOs in the art world. Despite their significant contributions to artists, communities, education and the economy, cultural nonprofit organisations face numerous challenges. These include funding constraints, but also, competition for limited resources, and changing audience demographics. These factors reduce the role of cultural NGO workers resulting in diminished public acknowledgement with their work not sufficiently recognised as a vital and inherent part of the cultural economy, the development of the arts, and societal health.

Speakers

Leon Butler (IE), Ceylan Hassan (CY/UK), Sakshi Jain (IN/NO), Olga Majcen Linn (HR), Theo Prodromidis (EL), Evagoras Vanezis (CY), and Andreas Zingerle (AT) will be presenting talks on the subject which will assist in expanding our perspectives of how the hierarchies of the art world function, and how we navigate within these imposed structures.

Programme

• Saturday, 18 April 2026
  • 9:30-10:00 • Housekeeping
  • 10:00-11:00 • Leon Butler: A care based approach to making work with and about societal challenges
  • 11:00-12:00 • Ceylan Hassan: Epistemic Justice and the “Dark Matter” of Cultural Labour
  • 12:00-15:45 • Lunch
  • 16:00-17:00 • Theodoros Prodromidis: Cartographies of times for care in the South-East
  • 17:00-18:00 • Sakshi Jain: Crafting Care Outside Institutions: Cultural Labour and Informal Networks among Sikligar
• Sunday, 19 April 2026
  • 9:30-10:00 • Housekeeping
  • 10:00-11:00 • Evagoras Vanezis: Working Within: Cultural Labour, Decentralised Care, and Artist-Focused Structures in Cyprus
  • 11:00-12:00 • Olga Majcen Linn: Intense Curating as a Practice of Care: Case of KONTEJNER
  • 12:00-13:00 • Andreas Zingerle: Root Access to Care: Nodes of Resilience in Collaborative Research and Innovation Labs
  • 13:00-16:15 • Lunch
  • 16:30-18:00 • Round table: Decentralised networks of care

About TOOLKIT OF CARE

TOOLKIT OF CARE (TOC) is an international project led by an interdisciplinary group of creative practitioners, academics, researchers, and arts organisations that specialise in creative technologies and have considerable experience in the production and dissemination of this kind of knowledge across Europe and internationally, who have come together to form a “critical network of care.” The network collaborates to share their collective expertise and technical knowledge employed in creative ways to develop knowledge and methodologies of care. The main aim is to produce a well formulated and integrated TOOLKIT OF CARE comprising articles, prototypes, audiovisual documentation, technical manuals, theoretical analysis, and data. It will act as a model of how to successfully share knowledge and expertise across different geographical regions and social groups.