Creative Responders

This month, we speak to Jeremy Smith as he exits his tenure with the Australia Council where he has worked as Director – Community, Emerging and Experimental Arts for the past four years.
Scotia caught up with Jeremy just ahead of his return to his hometown of Perth and a new role with the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts.
They discuss Community Arts and Cultural Development practice, the importance of what CACD has brought to other sectors and the innovation and creative thinking that artists bring to the table in a variety of corporate and and creative contexts.
Jeremy shares insights from his experience working across festivals, youth arts, community, First Nations and regional arts development projects in a range of creative and management roles.
He also shares his self-care tips and the importance of living room dance sessions for getting through quarantine.
Perth Institute of Contemporary Artshttps://pica.org.au
Australia Council for the Artshttps://www.australiacouncil.gov.au
The Awesome Festivalhttps://awesomearts.com
Derby Boab Festivalhttps://www.derbyboabfestival.org.au
And finally, because we know you want to, Murder on the Dancefloorhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAx6mYeC6pY

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Welcome to the first episode of our new monthly conversation series featuring in-depth, one-on-one discussions with the people working on the front lines of the arts and emergency management sector. John Lane is Artistic Coordinator for the Festival for Healthy Living. He speaks with Creative Recovery’s Scotia Monkivitch at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and shares insights from his career which encompasses a timely intersection of health, education, young people and the arts. John and Scotia discuss the importance of artists as lateral thinkers and problem solvers particularly in light of new challenges the world is facing as Covid-19 begins to impact life, work and creative practice.
More information about the Festival for Healthy Living:https://www.rch.org.au/mental-health/festival-for-healthy-living/
For a collection of stories, advice, information, resources and activities for community-based artists and other creative professionals learning to increase the wellbeing of children and young people, visit: https://creatingforwellbeing.com/

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When artist’s are called upon to work in remote or trauma affected communities, the impacts can be intense, usually without access to the psychological services available to other support agencies. So how do artist’s find the balance between dealing with a community’s trauma and their own self-care?
In this episode of Creative Responders, Scotia Monkivitch takes listeners into the beautiful Jarrah Karri Marri forest in Western Australia, walking among striking charcoal sculptures with Fiona Sinclair, manager of the Understory Art and Nature Trail.
We also speak to seasoned arts worker Karen Hethey and psychologist Shona Erskine to ask the question – what can artist’s do for themselves, but also, what structural changes do we need to see in the sector to make practice safer for artists and community cultural development workers?
Interviewees:
Fiona Sinclair, Instigator and Manager of the Understory Art and Nature Trail
Karen Hethey, an artist working with community whose practice draws on a professional background in puppetry arts, performance making, intercultural community arts and applied Anthropology
Doctor Shona Erskine, a registered psychologist and consultant who works closely with organisations and artists, coaching to build resilience and to enhance performance

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Farming communities across Australia are dealing with the slow-building emergency of the worst drought the country has ever experienced. When the challenges of isolation, financial hardship and psychological distress arise, how can these communities make sense of the unimaginable and work together to build resilience?
In this episode, we visit the small township of Sherlock in South Australia, where Mark Thompson shares the inner workings of the thong-o-phone and how the Sherlock Musical Playground project, and the combination of art and storytelling, is bringing a community together in tough times.
We hear from Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery Director Ian Tully about farming as creative work, and Verity Morgan-Schmidt, CEO of Farmers for Climate Action about the intersection of climate change and agriculture and her mission to ensure farmers are a key part of the solution to climate change.
Interviewees:Mark Thompson, Designer and advocate for men’s mental healthIan Tully, Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery DirectorVerity Morgan-Schmidt, CEO of Farmers for Climate Action

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When Cyclone Yasi hit the coast of North Queensland in 2011, the Girringun Aboriginal Corporation and its active community of rangers and artists took a position of leadership in the recovery process and galvanised a devastated community.In this episode, we explore how this particular First Nations community see their role in emergency response and look at some of the issues globally around best practice for indigenous peoples leading the way in disaster management.
Indigenous peoples all over the world have co-existed with large weather events for centuries. But colonisation, climate change and agricultural modifications have all played a part in disrupting the deep connection between land and people, changing the impact disasters have on a community.
Girringun’s Founder and Executive Officer Phil Rist shares the story of their traditional-owner led organisation; we take a tour around the renowned Girringun Arts Centre with manager Joann Russo; and we also hear from Girringun Ranger Michael George and Communications Officer Seraeah Wyles about the interconnectedness of arts, culture and country.
Interviewees:Phil Rist, Executive Officer, Girringun Aboriginal CorporationJoann Russo, Arts Centre Manager, Girringun Aboriginal CorporationMichael George, Ranger, Girringun Aboriginal CorporationSeraeah Wyles, Communications Officer, Girringun Aboriginal Corporation
The series is produced by Scotia Monkivitch and Creative Recovery Network Project Manager JillRobson, in collaboration with Audiocraft: Executive Producer Jess O’Callaghan, Producer SelenaShannon, Sound Engineer Tiffany Dimmack and Consulting Producer Boe Spearim.

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How does a tight-knit community in rural Victoria approach disaster preparedness when its youngest residents have lost their sense of safety? Ten years on from the Black Saturday bushfires, we visit Strathewen Primary School to hear from Principal Jane Hayward and a group of Year 6 students about their award-winning bushfire education program and how creativity can be a tool for building resilience and making sense of disaster.
Children and young people hold a potentially powerful place of leadership within families and communities when it comes to preparedness and recovery from disasters. They are also among the most vulnerable – both in the immediate and ongoing recovery process.
When there aren’t always words to express the enormity of an experience, how can the arts provide a space for sharing stories, building resilience, reducing isolation, giving voice to experience and making sense of the unimaginable?
In this episode, Scotia Monkivitch visits Strathewen Primary School where Principal Jane Hayward, the CFA's Lisal O'Brien and a group of Year 6 students share the story of their award-winning bushfire education program.
We also speak to Professor Lisa Gibbs, the lead researcher of Melbourne University’s ‘Beyond Bushfires’ study, about the importance of fostering leadership, agency and self-determination among children in the face of disaster and Doctor Louise Phillips joins us to explore the role the arts play in leading this evolution.
Interviewees:Jane Hayward, Principal, Strathewen Primary School
Strathewen Primary School Students: Liam Brereton, Rory Gravette, Scarlett Harrison, Lachlan Seckold, Brodie Donoghue
Lisal O’Brian, Arthurs Creek Strathewen Fire Brigade
Professor Lisa Gibbs, Director of the Jack Brockhoff Child Health and Wellbeing Program at the University of Melbourne. Lead researcher of the Beyond Bushfires study which is providing ongoing insight into how people are managing after the Black Saturday bushfires.
Doctor Louise Phillips, Associate Professor in Education at James Cook University, Singapore who researches in the fields of children’s rights and arts based methodologies and co-author of the new book ‘Young Children’s Community Building in Action: Embodied, Emplaced and Relational Citizenship’

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How can a sculptural forest trail in Western Australia reunite a community after bushfire? How does a tight-knit community in rural Victoria approach recovery when its youngest residents have lost their sense of safety? How is storytelling creating opportunities for connection among farmers in drought-stricken communities in South Australia? And how did an Indigenous-led ranger network and arts centre galvanise a North Queensland community following a powerful tropical cyclone?
In this new series from the Creative Recovery Network, Scotia Monkivitch visits communities around Australia that have experienced natural disaster, and explores the role of art and creativity to repair, rebuild and reunite.

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