Care aesthetics - with James Thompson

What does it mean to describe care as 'beautiful'? Is caring an art, and if so, what would 'artful' care (and careful art) look like? And how might an aesthetics of care transform how we think, not only about interpersonal care, but also about broader social relationships?

These are some of the questions we explore in this episode of the podcast, with James Thompson. James is a theatre practitioner, academic and researcher, and is currently Professor of Applied and Social Theatre at the University of Manchester. James’ professional practice has included ten years developing arts programmes in prisons and over fifteen years documenting and supporting arts projects in sites of armed conflict and humanitarian disaster. He helped to set up the TiPP Centre, which develops participatory arts projects in prison contexts, and also In Place of War, a global organisation that uses artistic creativity in places impacted by conflict.

James’ books include Performance Affects: Applied Theatre and the End of Effect and Performance in Place of War, both published in 2009, and Humanitarian Performance: from Disaster Tragedies to Spectacles of War, from 2014. He also co-edited the collection Performing Care: New Perspectives on Socially Engaged Performance, which was published in 2020. James’ most recent book is Care Aesthetics: For Artful Care and Careful Art, which came out in 2023. He currently leads a cross-disciplinary team of theatre and nursing academics and practitioners working on the Care Aesthetics Research Exploration project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, which explores what happens when we consider care a craft of artful practice.

We explore the following topics in this episode:

James' work in prisons and the activities of the TiPP Centre (03:00)

James' experience in conflict zones and the work of 'In Place of War' (05:38)

The personal roots of James' interest in care aesthetics (08: 04)

The genesis of 'Care Aesthetics' during the COVID-19 pandemic (11:00)

'Clapping for carers' as an aesthetic experience (12:33)

Towards an alternative aesthetics (14:38)

Relational aesthetics (18:23)

'In between' aesthetics (21:00)

Self care and care for the other (22:52)

The influence of feminist care ethics (25:00)