Sheffield experts invite carers to share their Covid-19 stories for digital exhibition

The display which care workers and those who need care are being encouraged to take part in by academic at the University of Sheffield, hopes to “make care visible” and give a voice to people who have faced ‘enormous challenges’ throughout the Covid-19 crisis.

Selected works, which could be anything from photography and poetry, to recipes and music that tell the stories of people who have needed and provided care throughout the pandemic, will feature as part of this year’s online Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Social Science.

The exhibition will be curated by experts from the University of Sheffield’s Sustainable Care Programme – which brings together an international team of researchers to develop in-depth knowledge of how social care affects people us and better systems of care could be built in the future.

Academics hope the exhibition will highlight the different ways people who receive and need care have had to adapt to different ways of communicating throughout the health crisis in order to interact with their families and communities.

Director of the Centre for International Research on Care, Labour and Equalities (CIRCLE) at the University of Sheffield, Professor Sue Yeandle said: “One result of the Covid-19 pandemic has been a focus of attention on the lives of unpaid carers, care workers and those who receive support.

"We think we have an opportunity, and a responsibility, to keep those people and their experiences at the centre of public consciousness as we begin to rebuild.

“Academic research in this area is crucial to help inform policy makers and social care professionals about the very real challenges the system faces as the world’s population ages.

"But it is just as important that we all see and hear from carers and the cared-for.

"Their experiences and voices too often get drowned out as others seek solutions to the challenges of their daily lives.

“This exhibition is designed to give a voice to the unheard and put faces to the unseen, those people who quietly give so much of their own lives to care for others.”

Carers and people who need care are invited to submit unique entries that reflect their stories, even if they have never created art before.

Photographs, drawings, paintings, illustrations, poems, short stories, recipes and pieces of music music are an example of the creative works experts are hoping to receive.

Participants who should include a note explaining why the creative work is important to them, should seek the consent of anyone featured in their submission which will be placed on public display.

Care workers and people who receive care will have the option to anonymise their entry when submitting their work for the exhibition.

All submissions should be made online before September 20.

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