At The Well: Tackling Covid-19 inequality one load at a time

We’ve been interested in connecting with communities and Launderettes with connections to Easton in Bristol. Both of us have experienced living in the area from culturally distinct perspectives and we felt this start point would offer up some rich, diverse stories and push us in new directions… it has! 

Last week we connected with At The Well, a Launderette in Stokes Croft, Bristol. We were inspired by a story we’d seen in the national news about some incredible work they’d been doing helping residents in Lansdowne Court, a tower block in Easton, to access laundry services for free during lockdown. Holly visited the Launderette for a socially distanced chat about the work they’re doing to help a community in a time of crisis. 

Since news hit the headlines in April, At The Well have expanded their services beyond Lansdowne Court and launched a successful crowdfunding campaign that's allowed them to continue offering free service washes to people in need. Approximately 250 street homeless people in Bristol have been housed in hotels during the Covid-19 pandemic, and many have no access to laundry services at their accommodation. At The Well have teamed up with Bristol City Council and charity organisations St Mungos and Caring in Bristol to expand their service to include these hotel residents. This has resulted in approximately 60 people signing up to have their clothes washed free of charge. At The Well collect laundry at the hotel(s), wash, and return it, never meeting the people whose items they have laundered.

This developing story has really thrown open our process and raised big questions for both ourselves and At The Well. How does having access to clean laundry improve a person’s wellbeing and how many of us take this for granted? How are the other 200 people housed by Bristol City Council doing their laundry? Do they just not know about the free service or are they managing in other ways? What happens when socially disparate worlds collide in a Launderette? How does it feel to do a free service load when you know your next load is a luxury duvet sent in from an affluent neighbouring area? How can we explore inequality through laundry? Should we? What about laundry as an act of care? Anonymity? And how does it feel to have a clean load delivered to your doorstep or hotel lobby without ever meeting the person who washed and folded it?

We often make assumptions and judgments when it comes to clothing, poverty and homelessness. And we need to be mindful of who is ultimately going to engage with and benefit from any artwork we eventually create. Can we find effective, creative ways to challenge assumptions and tell this developing story? We hope so.

Next steps: 

We’re aiming to connect with the people using this service to find out a little more about them and see if they’d like to get involved in the project. We’re exploring options to preserve participants’ anonymity as well as processes that will ensure those who want to can meaningfully engage with and contribute to the project. We're also exploring ways we might use this project to spread the word about a free laundry service for people who need it. We’ll check back next week with developments... hopefully less questions and a few more answers!