Creative Responders

Sam Savage is the Northern Queensland Emergency Services Regional Coordinator for Australian Red Cross where he manages response, recovery and community resilience programs with a focus on psychosocial support.
He is also the Chairperson of the First Nations Recovery Group, a national network within the Australian Red Cross team and a member of the organisation’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership Team.
Sam joins us to discuss the specific challenges faced by Indigenous communities in a disaster context, what kind of action organisations like Red Cross are taking to address the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and how our emergency management systems can improve to better serve marginalised communities.
In this conversation, Sam and Scotia discuss:

• The purpose of the recently formed Red Cross First Nations Recovery Group and the work it is doing to add a cultural lens to the emergency services sector by deepening knowledge about and tailoring information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
• The role that culture and connection to Country plays in health and well-being for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and why it is essential to contextualise disaster recovery around cultural practices and Traditional knowledge
• How we can create better systems and practices in emergency management to support and empower marginalised communities towards ongoing community resilience
• Sam’s role on the National Taskforce for Creative Recovery and how cross-sector collaboration is essential to finding effective ways to support communities
• The importance of inclusion and the work Sam is doing around advocating for recognition and inclusion, to ensure that First Nations people have a seat at the table in decision-making around disaster preparedness, recovery and response

Produced by: Jill Robson and Scotia MonkivitchAudio Engineer: Glen Morrow
Links:
Mayi Kuwayu: the National Study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeinghttps://mkstudy.com.au
National Taskforce for Creative Recoveryhttps://creativerecovery.net.au/national-taskforce-for-creative-recovery/
Caring for Country: Indigenous Leadership in Disaster Managementhttps://creativerecovery.net.au/creative-responders-podcast/documentary-series/s1-episode-2/

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In 2019, Jessica Brown established The Little Pocket nature play space from her home in the peaceful hinterland village of Beechmont to reduce isolation and nurture connections between young families.
She had no idea that a few months later, this network of community members would evolve into much more when they collectively they faced a catastrophic bushfire event that marked the beginning of Australia's Black Summer fire season.
In this episode, Jessica shares her story and we follow the process of activating a grassroots arts-based recovery project within a disaster impacted community.
We explore the integral role of local government in the recovery process and how the Scenic Rim Regional Council worked hand-in-hand with Jessica and other community members as they developed what would become the ReGeneration Creative Bushfire Recovery Project.
Scenic Rim Councillor Virginia West and Cultural Coordinator, Bronwyn Davies, join us to discuss what an authentically ‘community-led’ response looks like when it is implemented with meaningful local government backing and how councils can support community members to step into positions of cultural leadership.
The project provides a model for how investment in culture and the arts has the capacity to strengthen the social fabric of communities which, in turn, supports recovery and builds resilience for what the future may hold.

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Scientist, farmer and storyteller Doctor Anika Molesworth joins us for a conversation about her courageous and optimistic vision for the future of agriculture and the motivation behind writing her new book, “Our Sunburnt Country”.
Anika is a founding director of Farmers for Climate Action, a movement that puts farmers at the centre of climate solutions. She is a passionate advocate for sustainable farming, environmental conservation and climate change action.
Hailing from her family's sheep station near Broken Hill in far western NSW, it was the impact of the decade-long Millennium drought on their farm that spurred her interest in climate change.
The crippling drought filled Anika with determination to speak out about the changes she was witnessing on the land and in her community - this has led to her becoming a prominent rural spokesperson both in Australia and around the world.
Further Reading and Resources:
Anika Molesworth Official Websitehttps://www.anikamolesworth.com/
Farmers for Climate Changehttps://farmersforclimateaction.org.au/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI65SFsu3i9AIVEpNmAh3HPwWxEAAYASAAEgKupPD_BwE
Our Sunburnt Country, by Anika Molesworthhttps://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781760982744/
Our Sunburnt Country Audiobookhttps://www.audible.com.au/pd/Our-Sunburnt-Country-Audiobook/1760989223?source_code=M2MOR131091619005N&ds_rl=1252391&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2NaNBhDvARIsAEw55hhxdwzUeeSsWisu9Pit6r3YNJZLNmGAOOnCQn-UKywABMGK1ajWzDgaAgKlEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
‘The Positive Alternative’ Documentary Serieshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVqBCK5WH-8

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Darren Moffitt is a Bidjigal man who joins us to discuss his recent work in North-East Victoria as a Recovery Coordinator for Aboriginal Culture and Healing.
Darren’s role is part of the Black Summer recovery initiative activated by Bushfire Recovery Victoria (BRV) and is one of the first examples of a government program recognising Aboriginal Healing as a dedicated line of recovery within the pillars of disaster recovery.
In this conversation, Scotia and Darren discuss:

• The importance of ensuring Aboriginal voices have a seat at the table when it comes to recovery planning and processes
• BRV’s introduction of a dedicated line of recovery focused on Aboriginal Healing which stands alongside traditional recovery pillars of health, economy, natural environment, and infrastructure, and supports projects led by Aboriginal community organisations and Traditional Owner groups
• The effectiveness and challenges of Victoria’s Bushfire Recovery Grants that support Traditional Owner-led recovery projects
• The complexities of identifying and engaging Aboriginal community members who may not always be highly visible within communities
• How Darren and BRV’s work in the North-East to initiate meaningful engagement with Aboriginal community members has been a catalyst for more ongoing positive engagement across health and local government agencies
• The important role of culture and the arts and cultural events such as NAIDOC week to build community connectedness

Further reading and resources:Eastern Victorian Fires 2019-2020, State Recovery PlanAboriginal Culture and Healing, Stories of Bushfire RecoveryThe Conversation: Bushfire recovery hasn’t considered Aboriginal culture — but things are finally starting to changeBushfire Recovery VictoriaAustralian Institute of Disaster Resilience, Indigenous Perspectives on Disaster Recovery Webinar

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June Moorhouse, co-CEO of Community Arts Network (CAN) joins us for a deeply insightful discussion about community arts in Australia.
From its roots in the social activism of the 1960s and the early international community arts movement through to contemporary practice and its vital role in creating social cohesion, June reflects on the joys and challenges of community-based practice and shares her hopes for the future of the sector.
June and Scotia’s conversation is grounded in the findings of a collaborative research project between Community Arts Network and Creative Recovery Network and the six recommendations in their recently released report‘Creating Well: Recommendations for Practitioner Wellbeing in the Community Arts and Cultural Development Sector”.
June has more than 35 years experience in the arts, working in senior management and leadership roles, most recently leading the team at CAN in an innovative job sharing arrangement with her colleague Monica Kane.
June has a wealth of experience to share for anyone working, or interested in working, in community-based practice.
Links
Community Arts Network
Creating Well: Recommendations for Practitioner Wellbeing in the Community Arts and Cultural Development Sector
Join the working party to develop the practice framework: https://creativerecovery.net.au/creatingwell/

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In this episode we are speaking with Jen Rae, an artist-researcher, facilitator and educator whose work focusses on environmental communication with a particular emphasis on cultural responses to climate change.
Jen’s work around the climate emergency has focussed on discourses around food futures, disaster preparedness and speculative futures predominantly explored through multi-platform creative projects, research, facilitation and community alliances.
She is the Director of Fair Share Fare and the Co-founder of Fawkner Commons - creative and research-informed projects that centre food justice, land remediation and social cohesion in the climate emergency context.
In this episode, we discuss

• How the act of speculating future scenarios can benefit us as a society and the richness that creatives can offer into this space

• Jen’s work as a core artist of Arts House’s 5-year Refuge project, an initiative that brings together artists, emergency service providers and communities to rehearse climate-related emergencies and explore the impact of creativity in disaster preparedness

• Refugium, a short film Jen recently co-created with Claire G. Coleman as part of the Refuge project, which delves into the moral dilemmas of compounding existential crises through a fictional scenario of time hacking activists as they face humanity’s greatest challenge

• The importance of preserving the knowledge and skills required to meet the challenge of the climate crisis, making information accessible to our future ancestors and sharing it through meaningful storytelling

• Connectedness in communities, the importance of planning for ‘waves’ of response in compounding disasters, the link between loneliness and fundamentalist thinking and how an activist mindset can be a catalyst for acceptance and connection

Links:
Refugiumhttps://vimeo.com/541179309
Jen Raehttps://www.jenraeis.com
Arts House, Refugehttps://www.artshouse.com.au/ourprograms/refuge/
Fair Share Farehttps://www.fairsharefare.com
The Future of Loneliness by Olivia Lainghttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/01/future-of-loneliness-internet-isolation
Nihilism, fundamentalism, or activism: Three responses to fears of the Apocalypse by Richard Eckersleyhttps://richardeckersley.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Futurist_Apocalypse_2008.pdf

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Kellie Sutherland is a Creative Recovery Coordinator, working with Regional Arts Victoria to support bushfire affected shires in Victoria’s North East.
In this episode, we discuss what the role of a Creative Recovery Coordinator entails and the capacity for this work to provide continuity between recovery, preparedness and response that is foundational for building community resilience.
Kellie is an artist and performer, well known for her role as a founding member and creative co-director of musical group Architecture in Helsinki. More recently she has worked in arts communication and cultural partnerships roles in the North East and Border region of Victoria, forming a strong understanding of community-led activities and engagement practices.
In this conversation, Scotia and Kellie discuss:

• The role of a Creative Recovery Coordinator, the local networks they operate within and their role as advocate for the creative sector

• The importance of flexibility in our understanding of recovery outcomes and how an arts-based approach supports agility and innovative thinking

• The challenges associated with short-term recovery roles and how resources and support for longer term positions and projects can bring myriad benefits for communities in the face of cascading disasters

• The Creative Recovery training program recently completed in Beechworth, Victoria with ten representatives of the five shires Kellie is working across and her hopes for what will come from that

• Examples of recovery projects supported by Regional Arts Victoria grants and their effectiveness in strengthening community resilience and knowledge-sharing

More info about Regional Arts Victoria and their work can be found herehttp://www.rav.net.au/about/our-vision/

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This episode of Creative Responders features artists, Rosie McKeand and Leigh Tesch, who share their experience working with three to six-year-olds on ‘Afloat’, a creative recovery project created in response to the May 2018 flood event in Hobart, Tasmania.
Many early learning centres were seriously impacted by the flood and the community’s experience of the Hobart Rivulet was forever changed, prompting the local government to focus on young people and their families in their recovery strategy.
Rosie and Leigh collaborated with the City of Hobart on a program that utilised creativity and play as a means to help children deal with change, adversity and the associated feelings. Their combination of drawing and storytelling created a collaborative, child-led environment that provided a joyful space for reflection and learning.
In this conversation Scotia, Rosie and Leigh discuss:

• The process of using drawing, storytelling and creative modalities to work with young children to open opportunities for them to process their experience comfortably

• How to support children in times of change, and strategies to help them feel confident and safe in an environment that can change rapidly

• How the arts can provide reflection and learning around challenging experiences, particularly in early childhood when younger children may not have the language or vocabulary to express their experience

• The process of working in collaboration with educators, care-givers and parents and how the arts can open a different mode of communication for children as well as the adults in their lives

• The crucial role of local government in the recovery process and the positive impact of the City of Hobart’s activation of flood recovery projects incorporating arts-based initiatives and support for experienced artists to execute these projects

• Rosie and Leigh’s different creative modalities and how they work together in partnership to provide multiple entry points for workshop participants

The Afloat project was instigated by The City of Hobart as part of a range of recovery projects in the wake of the floods under the banner “Resilient Hobart”.
Funding for these programs was obtained through the Community Recovery and Resilience Grants Program, jointly funded by the Australian and Tasmanian governments under the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements.
The Resilient Hobart program was awarded a 2020 Resilient Australia National Local Government Award for excellence in their response to the flood event.
Links:
Resilient Hobart, 2018 Flood Resilience Projectshttps://www.hobartcity.com.au/Community/Community-Programs/Resilient-Hobart
Afloat Projecthttps://www.hobartcity.com.au/Community/Community-Programs/Resilient-Hobart/2018-flood-resilience-projects/Afloat-–-children-and-families-community-resilience-art-project
Afloat Resource Booklethttps://www.hobartcity.com.au/files/assets/public/community-programs/kids-and-families/the-afloat-project-nov-2019-261119.pdf
For more resources and case studies about creative recovery projects for young people, visit our resource library: https://creativerecovery.net.au/resources/

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Alex Wisser is an artist and creative producer based in the township of Kandos in mid-western New South Wales. In 2013 he co-founded the Cementa Contemporary Arts Festival in Kandos and took up permanent residence there with his family.
Along with Cementa, Alex is a co-founder of the Kandos School of Cultural Adaptation where his practice continues to focus on the challenges and opportunities of making art in a regional context with a strong emphasis on socially engaged art and its ability to support cultural change.
In this conversation, Scotia and Alex discuss:

• The regenerative farming movement and how the arts can support the process of change in communities facing serious social, economic and environmental challenges to their way of life

• The capacity of art to provide non-directed space for people to gather and create social cohesion and reflection on complex issues

• The example of a solar energy farming project in the town of Little Hartley in the Blue Mountains and how the combination of arts, science and farming can provide opportunities to bridge the urban-rural divide

• A research framework that Alex is currently developing in partnership with Creative Recovery Network that aims to create a toolset for artists to better perceive the social realities of communities in which they are working

• Alex’s shift to working in a community context and how it has made his practice more embodied and connected to the world beyond traditional arts communities

Links:
Cementahttps://cementa.com.au
Kandos School of Cultural Adaptationhttps://www.ksca.land
Welcome to Kandos, poster by Ian Millishttps://www.ksca.land/origin-story
Solar energy for the farmer, Little Hartley project:https://www.ksca.land/mark-swartz-project
Bula Mirri Farm Solar Project Video:https://www.ksca.land/blogfeed/2020/6/10/the-solar-project-video

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Louise Scheidl is an Occupational Therapist and Mental Health Promotion Officer for Albury Wodonga Health.
Louise joins us to discuss My Place My Home, a community-based arts project focussed on young people affected by the 2019/2020 bushfires in Victoria's Corryong area.
In this conversation, Louise and Scotia discuss:

• The layered impacts of the 2019/2020 bushfires followed closely by Covid-19 and the importance of supporting young people and their families through this complex recovery

• The overwhelming local support for My Place, My Home and the model of engagement they have created to bring together local organisations, health services and educators

• The first stage of the My Place, My Home program where four local primary and high schools participated in a range of creative workshops facilitated by local artists including visual arts, cartooning, drama, circus, drumming and rhythm, script writing, soundscaping, cartooning and shadow puppetry

The school workshops for My Place, My Home were facilitated by local artists from the Corryong, Walwa, Cudgewa, Albury and Wodonga areas. They are: Alison Plasto; Barbara Pritchard; Kirrily Anderson; Per Westman; Adrian Osborne; Alyson Evans; and Margaret Gleeson.
My Place, My Home is supported by: Corryong Health, Albury Wodonga Health, Gateway Health, Creative Recovery Network, Towong Shire, Bushfire Recovery Victoria, Regional Arts Victoria, Catholic Education Sandhurst, NSW Department of Education, Corryong Neighbourhood House, Beyond Blue’s Bushfire Response Program and The Royal Children’s Hospital’s Festival of Healthy Living.
For more case studies and resources about young people impacted by disaster, visit the Creative Recovery Network resource library: https://creativerecovery.net.au/resources/

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