The Feminist Practice of Affidamento (Entrustment)

The relational practice of affidamento, or entrustment, was developed by feminists in the context of collective groups of the 1980s in Italy. Affidamento diverges from the second wave feminist focus on horizontality and equality to recognize differing levels of competence among women, which form the basis for female relationships of trust. The adoption of affidamento represented a move away from mass campaigns for institutional reform and political equality in the early 1980s, towards the creation of autonomous feminist culture and interpersonal relationships. It responded to an impasse within feminist collectivity, where the denial of difference led to the dominance of certain voices, the passivity of other group members, and the suppression of desire. In this talk Helena Reckitt discusses the relevance of affidamento for feminist politics and collective organising today. She considers the possibilities and limitations of affidamento, including its inherent notions of sexual difference, tactics of strategic separatism, and emphasis on one-on-one relationships. Reckitt draws on case studies including the work of the Feminist Art Gallery (FAG) in Toronto, artists Celine Condorelli, Alex Martinis Roe and Raju Rage, and her work with the Feminist Duration Reading Group in London. Asking how affidamento could be reimagined for today, she explores how it might reenergise forms of artistic, curatorial, and activist work