Radical Play

This studio explores the potential of play as a medium of radical care. Learning from radical care and intersectional feminism, the studio examines play as a catalyst for building supportive community networks at multiple scales. As the global pandemic, economic downturn, and ongoing social inequities have devastated communities around the country, there is need to plan for healing in the years to come. Practices of radical care and intersectional feminism illuminate how healing can take place by challenging conditions of inequity and by cultivating spaces for joy. The conditions of play, however, are often highly structured and constrained by existing social inequities. Spaces of childhood play are shaped by larger conditions of gender, race, and labor. Through research into case studies, participants will examine and critique existing spaces of play and conceive of play spaces as networks of care that collectively support care workers, families, and children.