In this episode…
…a conversation with Joy about care, pain, violence and harm.
Care is usually not what you think it is. Comforting someone who is upset, might seem like an act of care. Yet it can also be a form of smothering or infantilization - if the person handing over the handkerchief actually cannot handle the emotions experienced. We start to unpack these different concepts slowly and tentatively to explore how they relate to each other; care - pain - violence - harm. And what power dynamics are present, in interactions of care. Strong boundaries for example, don’t align with the perception of a person in need of care. Can care be voluminous enough, that it can contain what someone wants, how they want it, what they need, and why? A horizontal chat that is philosophical in nature indeed, while sprinkled with lots of laughter. Enjoy!
On 22 October 2026 this conversation will be launched as episode 2.
Joy Mariama Smith
A native Philadelphian currently based in Amsterdam, NL, Joy Mariama Smith's work primarily addresses the conundrum of projected identities in various contexts.
A sub-theme, or ongoing question in their work is: What is the interplay between the body and it's physical environment?
Rooted in socially engaged art practice, they are a performance/installation/movement artist, activist, facilitator, curator and architectural designer.
They have a strong improvisational practice spanning twenty years. When they choose to teach, they actively try to uphold inclusive spaces.
ID: a portrait of JOy, a black person with brown eyes and shoulder length baby locs with red accents, purple eye shadow, piercings through upper and lower lip. Joy is wearing a turquoise and orange shirt, black necklace with large silver and gem stone detail. their mouth is opened, as they are mid sentence. the image is a still from the episode, they are in a horizontal conversation with sandra lange. Building a powerful archive of embodied knowledge, one conversation at a time.