On Inaugural Night, January 20, 2025, we held a comforting and empowering Care Café at La MaMa ETC in NYC. We spent 2 hours in the company of over 30 people who were looking for ways to keep connected to each other while figuring out what to do next.

We all had an inkling then but no real idea how bad things could get. Now we know! And now we know how much we need to stay connected to survive and how much we need to come together regularly to care for each other and to find a way through the chaos.

These Care Cafés in the Time of Chaos will be a space to gather, care for each other, and possibly strategize for a more hopeful and a more careful future.

The Care Café was conceived by artist Lois Weaver in the aftermath of the 2016 US presidential election and developed as a place to be in company and conversation with others. Set up like a conventional café with small tables and chairs, the Care Café acts as a temporary venue for community and conversation with some simple table activities set up within a framework of care. Just by entering the room, we acknowledge something of our own needs in the present moment and our desire to give and receive care.

The Care Café asks us to turn up as we are, with no specific agenda, expectation, or discussion topic, simply asking the question: How can we maintain an attitude of care in an uncaring world?