Crèche (of) Course

Crèche (of) Course is a step-by-step guide, for individuals and institutions, on how to set up an ad-hoc crèche.

***Crèche: A place for drop-in care where babies and children are looked after for a short period while their parent(s)/carer(s) do something else close by. Free and situated in spaces within leisure centres, gyms, art galleries/studios, shopping centres, events spaces, educational settings etc.

WHY?

Childcare is political. Without it, low income, working class people and precarious workers (especially women) are excluded from all sorts of activities, including work, but also leisure pursuits, cultural engagements and political involvement.

Accessible to all. Childcare for everyone, organised in a way that is not prohibitively expensive or income assessed. If you want to come you can. Presume those who don’t really need to access a crèche will not do so.

Children and their carers exist. Caring for children is often socially invisible, undertaken in private or domestic spaces. Ad-hoc crèches make the work of care visible in public and professional spaces beyond the home, nursery and school.

Universal free childcare now!... but in the meantime, an ad-hoc crèche.

Established in 2006 by Jen Conway and Jessy Young, Conway and Young take a collaborative approach to commissioned and self-initiated projects and are motivated by art and design’s critical, social, civic and political potential. Their work often serves as an invitation to create communities. They are interested in DIY, inclusive and discursive forms of production and practise.