The work we are doing stands on the shoulders of generations of artists, activists, and thinkers who have used creativity as a tool for survival, resistance, and transformation. We are part of a lineage of those who have challenged oppressive systems, reimagined futures, and insisted on rest, care, and community as radical acts. The references we share are a non-exhaustive list—just a glimpse into the vast network of influences that have shaped our practice.
We honour those who came before us, those working alongside us, and those who will continue to push these ideas forward in ways we cannot yet imagine.
Tricia Hersey, Rest Is Resistance
2022
Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto is a powerful call to reject grind culture and reclaim rest as a form of radical resistance. As the founder of The Nap Ministry, Hersey argues that rest is not just about sleep—it’s about healing, liberation, and dismantling white supremacist, capitalist systems that demand constant productivity. She weaves together history, spirituality, and personal experience to show how rest can be a tool for reclaiming time, imagination, and autonomy. Hersey urges readers to slow down, resist hustle culture, and embrace rest as a path to collective freedom.
La Pocha Nostra
La Pocha Nostra is a transdisciplinary performance collective founded in 1993 by Guillermo Gómez-Peña. Rooted in activism and experimental art, the group explores borders—both literal and symbolic—using performance as a tool for resistance and survival. Their work engages with crisis, confronting issues like colonialism, racism, and political violence while creating space for radical imagination. By blending ritual, satire, and body-based storytelling, La Pocha Nostra challenges systemic oppression and reclaims artistic expression as a means of both protest and healing.
Laura Fisher, Forged…
2022
FORGED (in the tender heat of your embrace) is a durational performance installation exploring rest, interdependence, and the body’s relationship to material. The work unfolds as a live archive of Laura’s ongoing choreographic collaboration with seven sheets of copper metal. Set within a soft sculptural environment by Zephyr Liddell, FORGED invites audiences to rest, listen, and engage through touch. Live audio description by guest artists acts as a third performer, disrupting sight as the primary mode of engagement in gallery spaces. The work reflects on care, power, and intimacy—challenging how disabled bodies are perceived while creating a temporary site where rest itself becomes an act of resistance.
Emma Jayne Park, Living Room Performances
2016
Emma Jayne Park is a Scottish dancer, theatre-maker, and activist known for creating intimate performances that embrace the audience’s personal context rather than attempting to erase it. In collaboration with musician Nik Paget-Tomlinson, they developed a framework for living room performances designed for individuals unable to attend traditional theatre due to immunodeficiency, anxiety disorders, or other barriers. These personalised performances bring a bespoke and equally high-quality version of an existing show into personal spaces, creating a shared point of connection for families and friends who may have engaged with the piece in different ways: in the theatre or at home.
Johanna Hedva, Sick Woman Theory
2016
Johanna Hedva is a writer, artist, and theorist whose work challenges the glorification of resilience and instead emphasizes care, interdependence, and refusal as forms of resistance. They are best known for their essay Sick Woman Theory, which critiques the idea that strength is defined by productivity and survival within oppressive systems. Instead, Hedva argues that those who are sick, disabled, or marginalized—often expected to be endlessly resilient—hold deep political power in their refusal to participate in structures that exploit them. Hedva’s artistic practice often defies traditional formats, incorporating sound, astrology, and performance to explore what it means to exist in defiance of systems that demand constant endurance.
Carmen Papalia, Open Access
2015
Carmen Papalia is a disabled, non-visual social practice artist who rejects resilience as a necessity for navigating inaccessible systems. Instead, his work reimagines access as collective care and interdependence. In Mobility Device, he replaces his white cane with a marching band, emphasising access as a shared responsibility. His project Open Access challenges institutional accessibility, advocating for flexible, relationship-based solutions. Through participatory performances and interventions, Papalia critiques compliance-driven models and invites others to rethink access as a dynamic, community-driven process—centring lived experience over bureaucratic policies. His work envisions a world where care, not resilience, defines accessibility.
Because Rest Matters, Unlimited
2025
Unlimited's Because Rest Matters: What is a rest kit? discusses the significance of rest spaces and introduces their pop-up rest kit, designed to enhance accessibility at events. Traditional rest areas often lack comfort, prompting the need for more thoughtful solutions. Unlimited's kit includes items such as portable seating (e.g., yoga mats, inflatable seats), cushions, blankets, temperature regulation tools (fans, hot water bottles), ear defenders, fidget toys, reading materials, adjustable lighting (battery-powered lights, eye masks), privacy screens, air filters, and COVID-19 safety supplies. These components collectively create adaptable environments where individuals can rest and recharge, ensuring inclusivity and well-being at various events.
CAFE ethos/Kinder Producing, Spare Tyre
2025
Spare Tyre, a UK theatre company, is shaking things up with its CAFE ethos—Community, Art, Finance, and Environment. Instead of just looking at money, they focus on how projects impact people, creativity, and the planet. They've also created the Kinder Producing Model, ditching the usual fast-paced, market-driven approach in favour of one that values well-being, affordability, and sustainability. They aim to make great art without burning people out or harming the environment. They’re keen to share their insights, hoping others will be inspired to take a more thoughtful, balanced approach to creating and producing work.