In the Mirror of Care Work was initiated by Inga Gerner Nielsen and Ar Utke Acs, two Danish artists whose work spans immersive performance, dance, choreography, curation and sociology. At two events in 2021 and 2022 that hosted dialogues between nurses and interactive performers, Nielsen and Acs began collecting stories and responses to conversational exercises, the latter of which revolved around questions such as – What can performance artists learn from nurses? How does the interactive performer's engagement with the audience correlate with the nurse's work with a patient? What skills, techniques, and strategies might these two fields share?

The exchange of knowledge from these two gatherings formed the basis of an ongoing dialogic project, as well as the content of this publication, which has been supplemented with seven essays by nurses, educators, performance theorists and performers. The book includes a series of drawings commissioned from artist Marit Benthe Norheim, graphics by TABLOID Press co-director Nat Marcus, and photographs of a performance installation staged by Nielsen and Acs in the Department of Nursing Education at University College of Northern Denmark – Hjørring.

Edited by Inga Gerner Nielsen and Ar Utke Acs, editorial assistance from Nat Marcus.

With essays by Elvira Crois, Majula Drammeh, Vienne Chan, Helle Kronborg Krogsgaard, Tyra Wigg, Rikke Steen Mapstone and Ar Utke Acs.