Introduction

Participating in events like festivals, workshops, or camps can be challenging for those arriving alone or with specific accessibility needs. Samuel Eberenz’s response is to practice webs of care – instigating the creation of small groups of up to six people to foster mutual support for each other, paying special attention to access needs and structural dynamics. Inspired by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna- Samarasinha’s disability justice framework of ‘care webs’ and by activist ‘action groups’ used in civil disobedience, webs of care redistribute responsibility for well-being from a few individuals or designated teams toward a more collective social system.

Drawing on webs of care at two annual events, Labor mit Utopieverdacht (LUV) in Germany and Elevate Festival in Austria, this pilot study examines how they function as an added layer of relationality adaptable to different scales and atmospheres. The web formed at LUV was crucial for discussing and addressing access needs and how to mitigate inequalities within such a self-organised environment, creating space to experiment with organiser versus participant dynamics and shared responsibility.

At Elevate Festival 2025, webs of care offered festivalgoers an optional, low-threshold way to build temporary micro-communities for connection and exchange, addressing the programme’s theme of climate collapse as well as the event’s social and physical challenges. Across both settings, webs of care emerge as flexible, context-sensitive microstructures that strengthen relationality and cultivate a culture of responsibility – valuable not only in explicitly sensitive settings but also in more peaceful environments for people seeking deeper connection.

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Context
This text is one of the pilot studies of Re-Imagine Europe: New Perspectives for Action. In these contributions we explore and reflect on artistic practices and experimental approaches in the cultural field that can engage and activate audiences and communities to address ecological, social, and political challenges. The pilot studies provide an overview of practices of cultural organisations that can serve as models, recipes, or tools for transformation for current and future generations of cultural workers and artists.

Find the overview of all pilot studies published so far here.