Care Game was a project co-created with the children of Banana Mountain School in Órgiva, Spain, aged 6 to 16.

Over a period of five weeks, I lived off-grid on the school grounds alongside about 25 other artists. We were responsible for meeting our own basic needs and creating a sustainable co-living situation for potential future artists-in-residence. At the same time, we gradually got to know the students of Banana Mountain School through workshops. This teaching method was familiar to the children, as it was part of their co-created, democratic learning community.

I introduced myself through play. First, we exchanged our local children’s games, and then we created a new game together with the children. The only condition I set was that they had to bring a raw egg that could not be broken—a symbol of care and responsibility.

This resulted in an obstacle course suitable for all ages and abilities, with the goal of safely delivering the egg home. The rules and scoring system were based on creativity, care, and inclusivity. While speed and strength are usually the main factors for winning, they were not necessarily advantageous for safely delivering the egg to its final destination. Instead of playing as individuals, the children had to form teams of eight, and the final result was the average score of the entire team.

The course was built using materials found on-site, and everything was created collaboratively with the children and staff of Banana Mountain School.