Who Cleans the Academy? Stories of Relational Resistance
Wie maakt de academie schoon? Verhalen van relationeel verzet (‘Who Cleans the Academy? Stories of Relational Resistance’) is a publication for the art journal Collateral, edited by Stijn Van Dorpe and Sarah Késenne as part of their long-term trajectory with cleaners at LUCA School of Arts, Ghent campus
For Collateral, Stijn Van Dorpe and Sarah Késenne compiled a journal issue around their long-term trajectory with the cleaners at LUCA School of Arts, Ghent campus. Since 2021, they have been exploring ways to make the work of cleaners visible and to develop new relationships between cleaning staff, teachers, employees and students. Together with cleaners and students, they organise cleaning sessions, screenings, breakfast gatherings and assemblies, while above all creating opportunities for regular conversation and exchange.
The publication includes the introductory essay ‘Who Cleans the Academy? Stories of Relational Resistance’, photographs of the textile strips made for the 2024 ‘Cleaning Assembly’, the essay ‘Looking at Blind Spots of Outsourcing and Organizing Cleaners’ by Zehra Eviz, ‘A Brief History of Cleaning Work at Campus Sint-Lucas’, and the accompanying text for a 2024 exhibition on the campus addressing care work: Vroeger heb ik ook tapijten gemaakt en nu poets ik het textielatelier, je zou kunnen zeggen dat ik terug ben (‘I Used To Make Carpets, And Now I Clean The Textile Workshop. You Could Say That I’m Back’).
Practical
Collateral 42
July 2026