Invisible Spaces of Parenthood

Artist Andrea Francke’s project Invisible Spaces of Parenthood is ongoing at CCA as part of the current exhibition The Grand Domestic Revolution GOES ON. In partnership with Surestart Edenballymore, a two-year-old childcare programme has been established in the gallery for three weeks in March. Cutting across the communal divide in the city, families from our closest neighbouring communities in The Fountain and Bishop Street are invited to participate. Borrowing from the ethics and aesthetics of 1970s manuals promoting self-sufficiency and DIY, Francke’s childcare environment invites exploratory and inventive play. In return for the childcare service, parents have been asked to provide information about their domestic lives and work. While the project takes place prior to opening hours in the gallery, the traces of the day’s activities occupy the gallery space.

Andrea Francke was born in Peru and is currently based in London. She is currently developing two main research projects. Invisible spaces of parenthood: A collection of pragmatic propositions for a better future explores issues surrounding childcare in collaboration with local nurseries, childminders, children’s centres and parent groups, and looks for new models and possibilities. It uses 1960s and -70s DIY culture as a frame of reference to question political, pedagogical, social and economic structures around parenting. The Piracy Project, a collaboration with Eva Weinmayr as part of the AND Publishing program (2011 – 2013), is an exploration of the philosophical, legal and practical implications of book piracy. She was a recipient of the Red Mansion Art Prize (2011) and a Communnal Knowledge resident at The Showroom in London (2012).

This project continues to evolve with the support of the Big Lottery Culture for All Fund over the coming six months.