This workshop is a space for participants to explore their relationship with the climate crisis and how it connects to their experience as a caregiver, through creative practices like movement, writing, drawing and group reflection. This is a one-off taster workshop – part of a series of eight which I am developing with the support of a Creative Ireland grant from DLR Arts Office. Feedback will be gathered from this first workshop, which will help inform the further development the full series.
Who is this for? This workshop is for you if you identify yourself as a caregiver – you may be a parent or guardian, a carer for a family member or friend; or maybe you are a professional caregiver, a teacher, a gardener… If you feel drawn to the themes of the workshop, you are welcome to be there.
Climate, Caregiving and Creativity feel to me to be inextricably linked. The fear and grief that many of us feel in the face of the reality of climate change, can be particularly overwhelming for caregivers as we imagine potential futures for those in our care – and at the same time, the all-consuming nature of caregiving often means we have little time or space to process these feelings. Becoming a parent or caregiver can be a great catalyst for many of us, giving us a new perspective and a strong desire to take positive climate action. Caregiving also demands huge creativity on a daily basis, requiring us to learn many new skills, adapt quickly, improvise and play. Through these workshops, I hope to connect some of these dots; make space for a community of caregivers to connect with their creativity, and with one another, process the complex experience of being a caregiver during this time of climate crisis, and generate new possibilities for individual and collective action.
About the facilitator: Roseanne Lynch is an actor, playwright, theatre-maker and mother. This year, she is taking part in Irish Theatre Institute’s Six in the Attic programme (Virtual Attic, Kildare). She is Co-Artistic Director of Darn Skippy Productions, a multidisciplinary company telling stories through theatre, film and music. Her new play in development, Waterbirth, is a surreal exploration of pregnancy, climate grief and the transition into motherhood.
