Talk by Chloe Turner followed by a Q&A chaired by Dr Akanksha Mehta

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Part of the series of conversations on CARE by the Centre for Feminist Research, Goldsmiths College.

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'Feel Tanks' derive their name from a group known as the Public Feelings Project that operated from the conviction that ‘understanding affective investment can be the a starting point for theoretical insight into the workings of capitalism, racism and sexism within power structures.’ (Cvetkovich, 2012) Using this framework as a jumping off point I have facilitated a range of ‘Feel Tank’ workshops which initially reframed these discussions from the the vantage point of students navigating an increasingly individualised and meritocratic academy and are now moving into arts education and online community building positions.

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Drawing on my experience facilitating ‘Feel Tank’ workshops, this talk will broaden the theoretical and practical scope of the approach by re-situating it within current urgent discussions of queer/trans* mutual aid, disability justice and sustainability. In the continuing struggles against global anti-Black, queer/transphobic conservative governance, pandemic ‘new normal’ living and the stripping of arts and humanities funding, nurturing spaces of care and connection have never felt more pressing.

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I focus on how by engaging in these workshops within academia, expending institutional resources, refusing to invest this time in ‘accredited’ research, we are already gesturing to a radical elsewhere. One where we gift our labour to each other as opposed to institutions, co-create the spaces to weather the coming disasters and mobilise a resistance that centres pleasure and joy.

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Full event details can be found here