Raised by a Village: Parenting & Caregiving in the Arts
Child-minder from CITRUS fest playing with a parent-and-child visitor pair at the festival’s play area (Photo: Joseph Nair)
DATEMar 14, 2025
WRITTEN BYTeo Xiao Ting
Xiao Ting’s practice of tending to generous attention materialises as arts writing, facilitation, and one-to-one therapy sessions. She works in intimate and sometimes invisible spaces to co-create worlds that are more habitable and joyous. They were part of CITRUS fest: Who Cares? as the workshop designer and facilitator of the "Conflict & Communication 101" workshop.
DOCUMENTED BYLaura Jane Lee
Laura Jane is a Hong Kong-born poet, translator and voiceover artist, currently based between Singapore and Scotland. She serves as Marketing Editor on the poetry.sg team, and her most recent pamphlet "flinch & air" was published with Out-Spoken Press in 2021.ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This article is published by CITRUS practices in collaboration with Ethos Books. All four articles and CITRUS fest: Who Cares? have been produced in partnership with the Arts Resource Hub and supported by the National Arts Council.Who might this be relevant to?
Present and future artists who are parents or caregivers, and anyone who works with or will work with them.
Life can be a lot. A lot of joy, a lot of struggle, a lot of toggling between roles. And when there is a child or children involved, trying to make time for everything we care about can be especially tricky. I have no children of my own, but I do have dear friends who are parents. Time with them sometimes looks like taking walks with their children singing nursery rhymes on loop, and these are precious moments where our friendship expands to include all the roles we play in life. Working in the arts is no different, where artmaking is often more intimate and less impersonal than what we might associate with work.
However, as shared by Titisa Jeamsakul (Ice) of Miao Dance, having children isn’t always something that is welcomed or accepted in the arts due to the misconception that being a full-time parent would mean one will no longer actively create works. In addition, there is a degree of gender imbalance when it comes to caring for children, such as when the child is breastfeeding.
With all of that, how can we work together to make space for all of life? What support structures are necessary, when there are caregiving responsibilities outside of work?
As part of CITRUS fest: Who Cares?, artist-facilitator Faye Lim and arts researcher Dr. Hoe Su-Fern organised the project “The Artist Is Apparent” to gather arts workers who are also caregivers in various capacities into a dialogue on parenting and caregiving. Building upon Faye’s efforts in highlighting parenting artists’ perspectives and challenges through the Facebook group Parenting Artists | Parenthood in the Arts (SG), the project involved: interviews with a diverse range of parenting artists, an online and in-person mapping exercise to collate resources on the topic, and a panel discussion during the festival.
The panel was held on 29 June 2024 and moderated by arts practitioner-researcher Dr. Nidya Shanthini Manokara, where actress and voiceover artist Julie Wee, independent producer Michele Lim, and performer and educator researcher Dr. Natalie Alexandra Tse shared about their experiences and thoughts about the topic. This resource draws from parts of the session and interviews conducted by Faye and Su-Fern with arts workers Hasyimah Harith and Norhaizad Adam of P7:SMA, independent producer Saiful Amri, and Titisa Jeamsakul (Ice) of Miao Dance, to offer perspectives and practical considerations as to how we can cultivate a more inclusive and supportive environment for parenting and caregiving artists.
Contributors of “The Artist is Apparent”. From left: Titisa Jeamsakul (Ice), Michele Lim, Dr. Natalie Alexandra Tse, Faye Lim, Julie Wee, Nidya Shanthini Manokara (Photo: Joseph Nair)
5 Considerations for Artists who are Parents/Caregivers
With everything going on that needs our attention and evolving needs as circumstances change, it can be difficult to navigate in a way that aligns with our needs and desires. How can we build towards an environment and support system that makes the process clearer? Here are 5 considerations that help parenting artists with their caregiving journey.
Taking Time to Clarify What is Important to You
Life circumstances can change unexpectedly. Especially when we are also considering those we care about, be it our child/ren or people who need our support, it can be very helpful to reflect periodically on our values to decide how we want to prioritise things. The Library of Care has a section on values that supports readers in thinking about what is important to us at the current moment of our lives, so we can start working towards aligning how we spend our time to reflect that.
Depending on personal priorities and how you want to delineate your practice, you might see yourself as an artist-parent, a parent-artist, a parenting artist, or neither. There is no right or wrong, your priorities shape the decisions you make.
E.g., choosing to take on roles that ensure more scheduling alignment with caregiving responsibilities
E.g., wanting a clear separation between work and home, and thus choosing to not bring your child/ren along with you during rehearsals
Exploring and Embracing Flexibility
Your artistic practice and parenting approach can be dynamic and responsive to the evolving needs of your family and career, which might mean different degrees of integrating your child/ren and caregiving processes into your practice, or not at all. Admittedly, this requires more workarounds, and it might also yield surprising results.
E.g., Norhaizad often brings his son into rehearsal spaces, which created an opening where he was able to ask his students and collaborators to “channel [his son]” in the work, particularly “his carefreeness and fearlessness”.
Explore digital platforms, hybrid ways of working, collaborating with other artists for shared childcare, or redefine what art making and performance looks like to you.
E.g., to Ice, she rediscovered that art is “not about making fancy, complicated stuff. It is also relearn[ing] how to appreciate simple things such as a balloon from a child”
Vary the format of rehearsals or meetings, such as having hybrid sessions where those who are able to be present in-person are, while those with other responsibilities can be present online, or having independent practice time where artists are able to work on things in their own time before convening in a larger group, which allows for more flexibility in scheduling.
Performance can also look like performing only for people you know, or in other contexts that are more intimate—there are many valid ways of seeing artmaking.
Building up Your Village
Consider what are the things you need support for —do you know who or where you can go to if you need certain kinds of practical assistance, information, or emotional support? Are there certain gaps in your support network and if so, what might you need to do or who might you need to approach to step up and fill that gap?
E.g., do you know which arts spaces have spaces for breastfeeding or play areas for children, who might be able to offer childcare support, or people who are welcoming to the presence of the child during work sessions and can help prepare for a corner in the space where the child can play safely? Can you ask if the company you work with has a budget for a childminder to take care of the child?
Communicating Openly
Clearly articulate your needs and expectations to collaborators, employers, and family members at the point of discussing terms for the project, or as soon as possible when circumstances change.
E.g., whenever possible, let project members know if there are certain times of the day or certain days of the week that are reserved for family, or when you need your partner to be in the space with you, or if you need some regular time and space during rehearsals to care for the child such as breastfeeding.
Negotiate flexible deadlines to factor in childcare emergencies that may arise, or suggest hybrid modes of working.
Request for family-friendly workspaces—for the times when you have to bring your child to work.
E.g., play spaces for the child, or having a childminder present.
Set boundaries and buffers to protect your creative time, which takes into consideration the mindspace and bandwidth needed to do the work, which can take longer than expected.
Advocating for Your Changing Needs
Ask explicitly for the time and space you need. Unfortunately, the onus is still often on the parenting artist to ask for what they need. By asking, you set a precedent that these things are reasonable asks, which makes it easier and more normalised for other parenting artists to make similar/further requests in the future.
Share your perspectives and what might make the environment more supportive for parenting or caregiving artists within arts organisations, government agencies, and the broader community.
Interviewees and team of “The Artist is Apparent” project (From left: Dr. Hoe Su-Fern, Hasyimah Harith, Norhaizad Adam, and Faye Lim)
4 Suggestions for Anyone who Works with Parenting Artists
Supportive work environments and understanding collaborators go a long way in supporting parenting artists. By fostering an environment that recognises, supports, and empowers them, we can tap into a wellspring of creativity and diverse perspectives. Here are some ways by which arts organisations and organisers can champion inclusivity and support for parenting artists:
Recognising and Valuing Parenting Artists and Their Children
Parenting artists have unique and valuable perspectives that they can bring to the arts community by virtue of their caregiving experiences, such as a deeper understanding of more efficient processes, or how an artwork will be received by children
Acknowledging children who are sharing presence in the space as people to be respected in their own right, instead of seeing them as passive presences. This can be something as simple as asking them what their preferences are instead of just shuffling them into a corner.
E.g., asking the child about their preferences, and being considerate of the child’s use of the space, or being mindful when moving so as to not accidentally bump into them.
Encouraging Family-Friendly Policies
At the level of policy-making, implement policies that support parenting artists in a tangible manner. These include flexible work arrangements, budgeting for childcare options, parental leave, and setting up family-friendly spaces within arts venues.
Listening and Considering the Viewpoints of Parenting Artists
Actively ask questions in order to understand the needs of parenting artists, and encourage open communication channels.
Be understanding and flexible towards the needs of parenting artists, and take into account the importance of their caregiving duties in relation to their professional ones.
Compile and offer resources and information on parenting, caregiving, and relevant government policies for artists.
E.g., this resource about caregiving structures from The Artist is Apparent resource spreadsheet is a good starting reference point to begin thinking about what to provide.
Collaborating and Connecting
Partner with other organisations such as childcare and childminding providers to expand support networks and resources for parenting artists, or collate resources from other parenting artists for information such as reliable childminders.
From left: Dr. Natalie Alexandra Tse, Julie Wee, Michele Lim, Nidya Shanthini Manokara (Photo: Joseph Nair)
The Village that Raises the Child
Caregiving is deeply personal, be it for the person receiving or giving care, or those of us who are supporting the caregivers. It’s also specific to each circumstance and each person. How we choose to navigate it depends on the individual’s values and needs. We all contribute to an environment for caregiving, whether actively in terms of offering concrete support, or passively by being open and attentive to the needs of the artists present.
This resource, grounded in the lived experiences of parenting artists, hopes to spark off conversations which will fruit into the creation of a more supportive environment for both parenting artists and caregivers.
Further Resources
Parenting Artists | Parenthood in the Arts Facebook Group
Connect with fellow parenting artists in Singapore for mutual support and resource sharing.
MSF: Government-Paid Childcare Leave (GPCL) & Extended Childcare Leave (ECL)
Supports eligible working parents (including self-employed, adoptive, foster parents, step-parents and legal guardians) in caring for and enjoying quality time with their children.
The Artist is Apparent Resource Spreadsheet
Access a curated list of local and international resources related to parenting and caregiving in the arts.
A creative platform, web resource and community-based project founded in 2012
Cultural ReProducers are an evolving group of active cultural workers who are also parents. This site is for anyone interested in making the art world a more inclusive and interesting place by supporting arts professionals raising kids.
Provides resources, interviews, and community projects.
A searchable database of artists making work about reproduction and child-rearing.
