This meeting with Maeve Colllins and Julie Griffiths took place on the evening of Tuesday 20th November in the lobby of the Old Ground Hotel in Ennis.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss my invitation to these artists to collaborate with me on the Laboratory of Common Interest through their ongoing work Fold and Rise. There are two proposed stages to their involvement.
The first is a workshop/ conversation with the women of the Moyross Women's group in January/ early February. The theme of this Fold and Rise conversation/workshop, arising from the overlap of our two sets of interests, will be on time, culture and care.
I propose to make an A2 printed sheet for each woman to work on with some supportive materials and space for written thoughts/ ideas I am thinking of some of Silvia Federici's ideas on care and commons. The ideas that arise through this workshop will inform that design for a. large banner that I will be making with the women, which will take up a central role in the public phase of the laboratory (April 15th - 27th)
A second Fold and Rise conversation might form a central point in one of the 12 days of the Laboratory's public phase. I am encouraging all collaborators to think of this as a space of mutual benefit. Some possibilities for adding value to the day could include inviting a historian focusing on irish women's labour or labour history. The Irish Women Worker's Union comes to mind. If the Moyross Women are interested to be part of the day that would seem to be a good link from the first event.
We discussed the possibility of an exchange, in which I would give a couple of days to working with these artists on the public framing of the Fold and Rise practice.This is in keeping with the idea of mutualism and alternative economies.