Zwischen uns Arbeit (Work Between Us)

Care work is rarely visible. It takes place in the background, is mostly performed by women, is underpaid and undervalued. Work between us is a cinematic journey through the care landscape of Austria, a reflection on our ideas about care and an observation of different forms of caring.

The film team poses questions about the Austrian healthcare system and the ways we’ve (un)learnt to live together: How are family carers coping? What circumstances do 24-hour carers find themselves in? And how is inclusion practiced in care institutions in Austria? In discussions with researchers, care workers and activists, it becomes clear that practitioners have a lot to say to politicians about a societal re-evaluation of care work, possible reforms, or even the complete collapse of the care system. The film gives care experts a voice and highlights the interdependencies we need to function as a society, to live in a meaningful relationship with our social environment. 

The film was made in the context of the ‘Caring Communities for Future Open Innovation in Science Impact Lab’ funded by the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft.

Trailer

Stills

Research context: Visual ethnography on transdisciplinarity in the context of care & caring communities

From February - October 2024, the project Sorgeräume (caring spaces) was conducted as a cooperation between the Vienna Visual Anthropology Lab (VVAL) at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Vienna and the Open Innovation in Science Center (OIS) of the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft. Elaine Goldberg and Helen Vaaks explored and reflected the OIS Impact Lab „Caring Communities for Future“ under the project supervision of Sanderien Verstappen. In addition to an artistic engagement with the topic of ‘Care’ and ‘Caring Communities’, a focus is on the transdisciplinary research processes and results from three Caring Communities projects. These were concerned with the integration of 24-hour carers into the Austrian care network (MigraCare), the participation of people with disabilities in the social space (Inklusive Caring Communities), and improving the quality of life of family carers in Austria (Care4Caregivers) – in other words, the creation of caring communities for a sustainable and future-proof Austrian healthcare system.