'Exiled homes' is an anthropological and artistic project supported by Valletta 2018 Foundation. It aims to understand and shed light on the ways through which foreign home care workers (employees) and Maltese older persons (employers) integrate within the domestic space.
The impact of demographic ageing within the EU is significant, with low birth rates and higher life expectancy. Malta is no exception to this trend. During the past decades, the Maltese Islands underwent a significant change in the care of the elderly at home through the employment of Filipino carers/helpers.
The project will assess the cohabitation of strangers under the same roof through the collection and understanding of the narratives of Filipino carers and older Maltese persons. The ‘mutual collaboration’ that aids both the carer and the older person to feel more integrated in their daily life, will be also expressed and rendered visible through the production of manufactured artwork by the Filipino carers and the older Maltese persons.
An artistic exhibition, which will be led by the artists Aglaia Haritz and Abdelaziz Zerrou, will take place in 2018. During the event, the creations produced throughout the project will be presented to the audience.
Further information about the call for participants may be obtained from the project Facebook page or by sending an email to: exiledhomes@gmail.com.
A book, with the project outcomes, will also be published in 2018.