A practical workshop on mutual aid for art workers organised by aasj (alex/alexandra sofie jönsson), Alberto Maro and Rikke Ehlers Nilsson.

Need help photographing your artwork? A hand in the kitchen or with childcare? Feedback on your website or fundraising strategy? Chances are, someone in your community can help — just as you have skills and resources to share in return.

Art workers in Denmark are amongst the country’s most precarious professional groups, often living project-to-project, with unstable conditions that lead to stress, isolation, and fragile health. Existing economic support structures frequently fail those in precarious positions — single parents, individuals without permanent residency, chronically ill people, and those on benefits.

Exploring practices of mutual aid for artworkers - the workshop creates a space where the systems of oppression can be challenged by recognising that systemic injustice, rather than individual failure, creates conditions of need. Importantly, mutual aid is fundamentally different to charity because it is based on solidarity rather than hierarchical giving. In contrast, mutual aid is about collective care, shared resources, and reciprocal support — people working together to meet each other’s needs rather than relying on external authorities.

This half-day workshop creates a hands-on space to explore alternative economies rooted in mutual support and exchange. Together, we’ll tap into the artistic community’s own strengths, skills, and resources-organising and experimenting with swapping goods, services, and knowledge in ways that foster sustainability and care.

Join us for a day of sharing, connecting, and rethinking support
— lunch and snacks included!

⇢ Who is it for? ⇠
Artists, cultural workers, and creative practitioners interested in exchange-based economies and mutual aid. Babies welcome!

⇢ How to participate ⇠

Fill out this short survey 
We will use your input to organise the workshop activities, and if you consent, we would like to include the list of needs and offers, as documentation for our work to improve artist conditions both locally and regionally. Fill it out as you best can and use the "other" category if unsure.

See a list of inspiration here - we will continuously update it!

Date & Time ⇢ 31st March 2025, 12-17

Where ⇢ Foreninglokaler, Vestre Fjordpark (på selve badeanlægget tæt ved iskiosken)

Workshop language ⇢ English/Danish

⇢ Programme⇠
12:00 - meet and intro to concept
12-13:30 - working groups & Exchanges
13:30 - 14:15 lunch
14:15 - 16:00 working groups and exchanges
16:00 -17:00 collective round off and mapping

⇢ Workshop facilitator ⇠

aasj (alex/alexandra sofie jönsson) visual artist and organiser, and one of the co-founders of the artist run platform lim collective. They work on queer feminist, folk medicinal and care-informed forms of knowledge through video, sound, open source software and building projects, often in collaboration with carpenters, swimmers, witches and therapists. They have a keen interest in woodwork, coalition building, and collective organising in the field of creative practices.

Alberto Maro is a textile and fashion designer with a long career in dressmaking, artist collaborations and organising collective labour. He is the founder of the textile workshop Bari-Bari in Holstebro, working with textiles and sustainability in relation to the global climate crisis and narratives from the Global South. His projects explore new ways of creating community and resource sharing in artistic and activist contexts.

Rikke Ehlers Nilsson is an artist and arts organiser as part of the platforms f.eks., c4 projects, and Aalborg Artist’s Association. Her work engages printmaking, textiles, ceramics, and photography. Through her practice she investigates themes such as visuality, staging, and framing in relation to identity, culture, and micro-politics. By examining phenomena within western media - popular culture, literature, and the visual landscape of the internet, she seeks to create a critical frame for contemporary conditions. 

⇢ Literature ⇠
Mutual Aid - Organising Against Precarity by Dean Spade - access here 
Training for Exploitation by Precarious Workers Brigade - access here