Architectures of the Social Anthropology, Music & Community Care

Policymakers often present community care as an answer to the demographic changes within an ageing Europe. This paper asks how we might understand the notion of community as different architectures of the social, meaning different constellations of social relationships. The aim is to learn how informal caring relationships may be imagined, supported, and developed. I will argue that theoretical and policy concepts that have impacted on the understanding of community in relation to aspiring ‘citizens’ who want to ‘get in’ to ‘assert their rights’ are problematic. I explore the notion of less governable everyday aesthetic values as an alternative to understand the formation of social ties. I will then put these insights to the test through an ethnographic study of the development of a music event. This event aimed to support the formation of social bonds in a Dutch apartment building for inhabitants over age 55. This experiment led to unexpected results that are instructive for thinking about ‘architectures of the social’.