Holding Space is an exhibition that centers the creative practices of artists who are also caretakers —parents, children of aging parents, healthcare workers, teachers, and others whose daily lives are devoted to caring for others. The show explores how care work and creative work intertwine, focusing on the tenderness, exhaustion, devotion, and resilience that shape both art-making and caregiving. For many artists, the act of caring for others transforms not only the rhythms of their days but also the materials, gestures, and meaning of their work. Holding Space asks: What does it mean to create while caring? How does the invisible labor of care manifest in visual form? What new aesthetics, structures, or communal possibilities emerge when care itself becomes part of the creative process? This exhibition is meant to reflect the community in which it is held, as well as be inclusive of often underrepresented creators (those for whom it cannot be a full-time practice).

Curated by Ash Lorusso, Paget Marion Blythe, and Dara Baldwin

Presented by the Durham Art Guild