Radical Care is a programme of free public talks presented by Hereford College of Arts and Meadow Arts. It explores the question of care in the context of contemporary art and how artists are transforming their creative practices to foster well-being and connectedness.
As our world becomes increasingly precarious and complex, a sense of uncertainty and anxiety is becoming widespread, impacting general well-being both in the fabric of society and on an individual level. In this context, how might art help us reconnect, heal, and better understand one another?
The question of care has become a central concern for artists. This manifests both through the act of creating work—individually or collaboratively—and in response to a range of issues they are passionate about. These responses may take many forms: creating participatory social spaces, highlighting social neglect and marginalised communities, or addressing the undeniable need for collective care in confronting the environmental crisis. Different approaches to care through artistic practices also connect with a notable shift in the wider world of contemporary art, which increasingly understands art as a process and a relationship, rather than merely a product.
Whether you’re a practising artist, student, graduate, or simply curious about the power of art to inspire change, all are welcome to join these free public events to gain fresh insights and engage with bold ideas shaping the future of contemporary art.
Poster designed by Heather Preece.
Free, booking is advisable, donations welcome
Wheelchair accessible
There will be soft & hot drinks available before and after the talks
On-site parking, subject to availability
Hetain Patel
6 – 7:30pm
Main Hall, Hereford College of Arts, College Road Campus
Hetain Patel’s work explores ideas of identity and how we decide who we are. From stepping into his father’s shoes on an assembly line, to building a working Transformer robot out of his old Ford Fiesta, he examines and challenges the assumptions people make about others based on their race, gender, age, and class.
For his latest project ‘Come as you really Are’, commissioned by Artangel, Patel asked thousands of people to share the fruits of their hobby. The result is an astonishing exhibition that challenges our perception of who gets to be called creative and where the impulse to create stems from. Patel’s belief that creativity is a broad and hopeful concept leads him to often use popular cultural icons and playful stratagems that involve a wide participating audience.
Marcus Coates
6 – 7:30pm
Main Hall, Hereford College of Arts, College Road Campus
For Marcus Coates caring is fundamentally about relating. His attempts to relate to others’ experiences, including those that are deemed too different, explore the power of empathy and creativity and this often leads to a re-imagining of the cultural tools at his disposal. From his attempts to become animal to his vicarious experiences on behalf of individuals, he aims to discover new degrees of understanding and knowing, testing traditional definitions and boundaries.
The form and purpose of his work continues to develop in consideration to society’s needs which he responds to by working with individuals, communities, institutions, organisations and the general public. In this way he sees the role of art practice as a necessary and pragmatic service to counter the limitations of cultural tools. Coates has collaborated with people from a wide range of disciplines including anthropologists, ornithologists, wildlife sound recordists, choreographers, politicians, gallerists, curators, psychiatrists, palliative care consultants, musicians and primatologists amongst others.
Warning: this talk will include a film that shows images and explores issues that include self-harm, suicide, delusions, hallucinations, and paranoia.
Faye Claridge
6 – 7:30pm
Main Hall, Hereford College of Arts, College Road Campus
Faye Claridge’s key interest is subjectivity and our relationships to others in the present and the past as well as connections with the natural environment and wellbeing. She deliberately works on the margins of society, with groups who are ridiculed or feared for the image they portray of themselves. She has recently focused her work on the justice system and particularly worked in various prisons with groups of prisoners.
We Roar is an exhibition of extraordinary artwork and poetry by 40 people imprisoned in England and the USA. All were sent three pieces of inspiration and set the challenge of responding creatively. The strength of the resulting artworks and creative writing speaks with a passion and humanity that cannot be ignored. The accompanying statements are equally compelling, with some speaking directly about important social inequalities, drawing on personal experiences to vividly lay bare the shameful fact that anyone marginalised or facing prejudice is more likely to be imprisoned. Other pieces appear less political, but their concern to show humanity, vulnerability and individuality is itself a protest against stereotyping. All are important contributions in the fight against the invisibility and dehumanisation of imprisonment.
David Blandy
6 – 7:30pm
Main Hall, Hereford College of Arts, College Road Campus
David Blandy is an artist examining global structures of control and networks of resistance, in areas that range from ecology, history and science to arenas of play. He makes videos, games, sound and ephemera, deconstructing forms to put them back together again. He searches for meaning in cultural life, an expanded form for auto-anthropology, sifting through multiple forms of archive, from historic texts to academic archives, archaeology and ecological theory, twitch streams and film archives; Blandy weaves poetic works that explore the complexities of the contemporary subject. He builds complex stories that sketch out a future of interdependence, through visual poetry and immersive play.
Blandy’s projects involve complex installations, performance, writing, gaming and sound.
Bobby Baker
6 – 7:30pm
Main Hall, Hereford College of Arts, College Road Campus
Bobby Baker’s acclaimed intersectional feminist practice includes performance, drawing, and installation. It persistently exposes the undervalued and stigmatised aspects of women’s daily lives, exemplified by pioneering works such as Drawing on a Mother’s Experience (1988) and Kitchen Show (1991), which the Arts Council Collection recently acquired.
Current and forthcoming projects include the Hayward Touring exhibition Acts of Creation: On Art and Motherhood at Dundee Contemporary Arts (19 Apr–13 Jul 2025); An Edible Family in a Mobile Home (1976) remade in 2023 as part of Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970–1990 at Tate Britain, touring to the Whitworth, Manchester (7 Mar–20 Apr 2025).
Established by Baker in 1995, ‘Daily Life Ltd’ makes art that explores and celebrates everyday life and human behaviour. Their work is rooted in Baker’s vision and art practice, and collaborators include like-minded artists and organisations across the arts, health, and disability sectors. Their mission is to lead advocacy for change in the way people think about women and the undervalued aspects of daily life. This includes celebrating age and experience and tackling misogyny and injustice in the mental health system.
Partners
Presented in partnership with Hereford College of Arts.
