Care

Curator statement by Kaylan Buteyn

“Parenting, Caregiving and being in relationship with others can give us so much love and joy, filling our cup in many ways. However most of us also experience heightened stress and anxiety due to caregiving. Caring for others can often come at the expense of caring for ourselves and can trigger depression, panic, worry, and mental disorders that threaten our health. From holding a newborn who feels so fragile, to helping a sick or elderly person who relies on you so heavily, managing the lives of others makes our plates full. Looming responsibilities, figuring out medical tasks we don’t feel prepared for, uncertainty about the future, fear of losing a loved one, lacking resources or wisdom to help those we love...there are so many ways our own stress and anxiety is compounded because we care.

Caring for ourselves and caring about social issues that are important to us can also be a source of anxiety. Are we fitting in the right amount of exercise, sleep, nutritious food, reading, vacationing, etc. Are we listening to what consumerism and the world tells us we need to do to care for ourselves and is that causing even more anxiety? Are we doing enough to contribute to the changes that we need to see in our society? How do we cope with seeing so much suffering in the world?

For this call, we are inviting artists to reflect on the following prompts:

How is your mental health influenced by all the ways you care for others, for society, and yourself?  How are you caring for your mental health?”