Tales of Care & Repair

TALES OF CARE AND REPAIR was a programme in collaboration among three organisations and coordinated by three interdisciplinary and international artists and practitioners: Teresa Dillon, a Professor at the University of West England, Bristol, UK; Ravi Agarwal, Founder and Director of Toxics Link; and Fred Paulino, Co-founder of Gambiologia.

The programme aimed to gather stories of the repair of everyday objects from India. It took the form of a repository of ‘stories’ of everyday repaired objects, alongside a series of conversations and workshops that focused on co-constructing “Repair Declarations” and aimed to bring back the lost culture or practice of repair in India.

The programme engaged with several repair experts such as jewellers, automobile technicians, watchmakers, electronics specialists, textile artisans and in other fields. Their perspectives on the lost culture of repair and how it has impacted their professions were particularly intriguing. Toxics Link successfully collected over 300 stories of repair, showcasing both successful and failed attempts made by citizens of India. Additionally, the program facilitated interactions with 10 repair experts, conducted 2 workshops and 3 seminars. A website (https://tales.repairacts.net/) was also launched to serve as a platform for sharing these stories.