Membership Has
Its Privileges
Millions of unpaid family dementia caregivers today were children of the 80s, a time when Members Only jackets were THE fashion statement and American Express touted the slogan “Membership Has Its Privileges.”
It was a time when membership really meant something. You were special, belonged, “we got you.”
But when happens when, 40 years later, dementia hits your parent and all of the sudden you are no longer a member of two important institutions:
The Economy and The Moral Community
Membership exclusion for these caregivers results in devastating impacts of being a unpaid family dementia caregiver, impacts that include depression, anxiety, isolation, loss of finances, loss of freedom, relationships, friendships, and more.
This installation explores how The Economy and The Moral Community go hand-in-hand and that with inclusion, these impacts of caregiving can be minimized or reversed, giving unpaid family dementia caregivers the support needed to care for someone with a debilitating brain disease.
The installation below is delivered in stages, with new elements added at each new stage.
Membership to these institutions does indeed have its privileges.
But now you are caring for someone who holds no value in The Economy and are providing a service, care, that is not fungible.
Now you are caring for someone with a questionable autonomy and questionable rights to resources decided upon by The Moral Community. With this, your autonomy and right to resources are in question as well.
