Hospitality against prognosis': the book that reclaims health as a common good and the culture that heals

The book has the collaboration of Sabina Urraca, Diana Oliver, Ethel Baraona, Noelia Ibarra, Noemí López and Felipe G. Gil from ZEMOS98.

We present, ‘Hospitality against prognosis: Weaving a common language between artistic practices and nursing work’, a reflection of the learnings acquired through the mediation process of the project, Paediatric ICU, and that draws lines of flight to think of health as a common good, beyond the exclusively sanitary.

The publication features texts by Sabina Urraca, Diana Oliver, Ethel Baraona Pohl, Noelia Ibarra, Noemí López Trujillo and the mediator, Felipe G. Gil of ZEMOS98, contributions that attempt to answer questions that run through the project such as: How does care happen in highly fragile life-sustaining environments?, How can this be done through imagination and artistic thought?

A visit to the hospital environment

The text of Noemí López Trujillo, is built on conversations with family doctor and public health expert Javier Padilla, addressing the issue of health beyond the health space. 

Ethel Baraona, Diana Oliver y Noelia Ibarra reflect in each of their texts on the three works of the Paediatric ICU: La Cuidateca, by OFIC's Artemi Hernandez; the podcast by Elena Cabrera, and the illustrated story ‘Hospitaller’.’, of El Hematocrítico and Cynthia Hierro.

Sabina Urraca writes a fictional story about a girl and her family who are subjected to a sudden hospitalisation, inspired by the experience of a patient in a paediatric ICU. Finally, Simone Turinese produces a photographic essay through portraits of the nursing staff involved in the project over the four years of the project. 

The publication also includes ‘Mediation Notes’ written by the project mediator, Felipe G. Gil by ZEMOS98, which serve as an introduction to each of the texts, and broaden the context of the project, creating a space for reflection on the mediation process initiated by this project.

Paediatric ICU

The partnership was initiated in 2018 by the mediator, Felipe G. Gil of ZEMOS98, and a group of five nurses from the Hospital Nuestra Señora de Candelaria in Tenerife, encouraged by the idea that there is a lack of tools and resources for the adequate emotional care of children admitted to an Intensive Care Unit..

As a result of the four-year journey of the Paediatric ICU, three works of art have been created: an illustrated story aimed at patients and devised by El Hematocrítico and illustrated by Cynthia Hierro from the Canary Islands; a podcast, involving health professionals and relatives, aimed especially at patients' families, and created by Elena Cabrera; and a mobile library, which helps nursing staff to deal with patients and which was built by Artemi Hernández from the Office of Civic Innovation (OFIC).

Collaboration with Bartlebooth Publishers

‘Hospitality against prognosis’ has been published thanks to the collaboration agreement between Concomitentes and Bartlebooth, a publishing house specialising in the production of publications that examine the contexts and procedures of contemporary spatial and artistic practices, and with which we share an interest in the value of public space on a political, social and cultural level.

This publication is part of the The collection ‘Mediaciones’, the result of this collaboration, addresses the notions of space and the public sphere from different angles., The exhibition will focus on the interstices between contemporary art and citizenship.

The first book in this collection was ‘Mutations in public space’, launched in July 2021, which nurtured the idea that public space and the creation of community constitute a right and also a responsibility of civil society, reflecting on the interrelationship of human beings with the spaces they inhabit, evaluating the relevance of artistic and architectural practices for the public and, ultimately, generating an exercise in defence of the commons.

The book ‘Hospitality against prognosis’ launched in March 2023, it features 124 pages and an initial print run of 500 copies. The texts are in Spanish and distribution will be mainly in Spain and Latin America.. 

From Monday, 14 March, the sale is already open (here) on the Bartlebooth website and in bookshops.