Art Work as an Inclusive Space: Caring Relationships at a Day Activity Centre with an Artistic Profile

Marie-Louise Stjerna; Helen Knutes Nyqvist; Stephan Hau

doi:10.16993/sjdr.1269

Art Work as an Inclusive Space: Caring Relationships at a Day Activity Centre with an Artistic Profile

Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research

Volume 28 (2026): Issue 1

By: Marie-Louise Stjerna , Helen Knutes Nyqvist and Stephan Hau

Open Access

|Mar 2026

Abstract

Drawing on an interdisciplinary research arts project in collaboration with a day activity centre (DAC) with an artistic profile, we explore the dynamic of caring relationships, that is, the interaction between the staff and the participants, within welfare settings aimed at people with disabilities. Our research takes its point of departure in critical disability studies (CDS). The power dynamic of caring relationships is often imbued with paternalistic notions positioning the service user as the ‘vulnerable disabled Other’ and the carer as the ‘invulnerable expert practitioner’. Together with this DAC, we set up a research arts project about dreams and carried out ethnographic fieldwork. The analysis reveals how the art work offers an inclusive space where the predefined roles of staff/‘expert’ and participant/‘care recipient’ somewhat cease to control the interaction between them. These caring relationships are characterised by reciprocity, collaboration and a respect for differences, enabling agency and voice for the participants.

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.16993/sjdr.1269 | Journal eISSN: 1745-3011

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Language: English

Page range: 117 - 129

Submitted on: Feb 19, 2025

Accepted on: Feb 16, 2026

Published on: Mar 9, 2026

Published by: Stockholm University Press

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Keywords:

critical disability studies,

arts,

caregiving,

relationships,

daily activity services

© 2026 Marie-Louise Stjerna, Helen Knutes Nyqvist, Stephan Hau, published by Stockholm University Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 28 (2026): Issue 1