Window(s) of Tolerance: Tools for Ideal Collaborations in an Un-Ideal World

Application summary

Window(s) of Tolerance is a digital publication-tool developed by Feminist Culture House (FCH). Through a series of texts, worksheets, practical exercises, toolkits, and checklists, the publication provides clear guidelines to implement intersectional feminist practices when collaborating with others, even under the most precarious and un-ideal conditions. Our title references a psychological concept that describes a space within which we feel comfortable and safe: a “window of tolerance” is formed by states of hyperarousal and hypoarousal, and when these boundaries are stretched or broken, it becomes very difficult to function or to work. The window(s) of tolerance of artists and arts professionals working in the Finnish art field—and beyond—are in a constant state of precarity, facing funding cuts, structural racism, immigration barriers, ecological crises, and lack of accessibility. How can we build support structures of care to reinforce our windows of tolerance and make the art field a more equitable place to work together? After more than five years working as a curatorial and editorial collective in Finland and internationally, FCH has gathered a vast amount of theoretical and practical knowledges around intersectional feminist practices. We have also listened to our networks of collaborators and allies to address a variety of lived experiences and their specific needs. We have implemented and experimented with this in our own projects—exhibitions, commissions, publications, educational programs, and artistic practices—and have learned and fine-tuned many methodologies to share with others in an accessible and customisable way. Window(s) of Tolerance will be distributed for free through FCH’s networks in Finland and internationally. A culmination of years of working and advocating for change in the art field, this publication invites everyone to pollinate the art field with feminist and anti-racist practices.