Sheila is sharing new work, speaking on a panel and leading a workshop in Brussels 21 -24 September as part of Signal #5 - Art Facing Terror
TALK - WED 21.09 - 10:00 > 13:00 Violence
How do we think about violence, which is now part of our daily lives, but which is also exercised against the Stranger at the borders of Europe (sometimes in the head of the citizens themselves), "to protect us"? What does this violence change in our perception, in the essence of the city - especially about its anonymity? What is our responsibility as artistes or cultural operators in this situation?
Enlightener: Laurent Licata (B)
Speakers : Tom Sellar (US), Sheila Ghelani (UK)
WORKSHOP - WED 21.09.16 - 14.00 > 17.30 Taking Care, Holding others, with the Red Cross
The concept of “care” manifests a lot in Sheila Ghelani’s practice, sometimes leading her towards working alongside the caring professions in hospitals and day centres. For this workshop, Sheila invites Belgian Red Cross workers to discuss how they think about and use the word “care” within their organisation and how they “hold” others. There will be some practical exercises on holding/taking the weight of one another and some discussion about these. The Red Cross will also share some First Aid for emergency situations.
MOBILE PERFORMANCE - SAT 24.09.16 Around Dansaert, Molenbeek, Canal, Sainte-Catherine.
We picked you up, carried you like a feather, like a shell - Helen Troy, retired nurse
Within her work Sheila Ghelani is very interested in the practice of medicine and care. In Brussels she was drawn towards the Red Cross, learning that it was some of its workers who took care of victims after the recent attacks on the city. On considering the different kinds of support such organisations and people provide in times of need (physical, psychological and social), and inspired by the book on nursing "Tenderly, lift me" by Jeanne Bryner, Sheila imagined walks or moments in which passers-by are invited to be carried or carry others on a chair, palanquin or stretcher in the city… a chance to physically experience taking the weight of another, or sense the feeling of being held aloft, a symbolic act of care, made visible in public. The performance also gently nods towards the complex history of the Palanquin and Sedan Chair, which takes in the battlefield, colonialism, royalty and tourism.
Image Credit: Wellcome Library, London