Mid Coast Artist and facilitator Ann McDermott has recently completed a series of Creative Recovery workshops with her community who have gone through back to back disasters - from the bushfires to floods and Covid 19.

Ann shares what she learnt from our training program and how the Mooral Creek community have come together through making art, sharing stories and food at the Fabulous celebration at their local hall. We also hear from community members Lindsay, Robert and Paula - who share their own experiences of the events.

Following on from the Creative Recovery Training we delivered in March 2022, Arts Mid North Coast supported several participants to facilitate their own workshops for communities impacted by recent disasters.

In this episode we meet Bernard Kelly-Edwards - a poet, photographer and digital artist from Gumbaynggirr Country who recently ran a Creative Recovery workshop in Sawtell and Toormina. Grounded by his Gumbaynggirr philosophy, Pabi Dawaandi provided a unique opportunity for people to connect to Country, themselves and to each other through a creative process using photography, poetry, music and visual art. We also meet Aiden, Janet and Damien who share their own experiences of the bushfires and the workshop.

Credits:

Pabi Dawaandi poem by Bernard Kelly-Edwards / Original background music by Aidan MacGilvray

Recorded at The Shed, Toormina

Original title track by Stewart Peters / Soundshed Music

As we face increasing crises caused by floods, fires, droughts and other natural disasters and now viruses such as COVID-19, the arts can play an important role in the response and recovery process.

In this episode, we meet Scotia Monkivitch - Executive Officer at the Creative Recovery Network, to talk about Creative Recovery - a particular approach using art and creativity as tools to support individuals and communities after a disaster. Scotia is facilitating a training program in Creative Recovery for our region in March 2022.

We also chat with Dr Emma Gentle, a registered and practising art therapist and researcher in Arts and Mental Health who is evaluating our Creative Recovery Program. Dr Gentle has delivered several Bushfire Recovery projects in our region, and in this interview, she provides some insight into the neuroscience behind art-making and recovery.

Arts Mid North Coast's Creative Recovery program has been supported by the Bushfire Community Recovery and Resilience Fund, a joint Commonwealth and State Disaster Recovery Program, Primary Health Network and Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal.

To found out more about this program visit https://artsmidnorthcoast.com/our-creative-community/smart-art/creative-recovery/

We continue on from our Art in Lockdown episode, and reflect back on first COVID lockdowns of 2020, and how our arts community responded in a 'digital pivot' delivering innovative ways of reaching their audiences online.

Here on the Mid North Coast, our three Regional Galleries were quick to adapt to new ways of delivering their services to the community. Cath Fogarty Cultural Development, Gallery and History Services Coordinator at Coffs Harbour City Council, Bridget Purtill, curator at Port Macquarie Glasshouse Gallery and Rachel Piercy, Director at the Manning Regional Art Gallery shared with us their experiences and responses during last year’s Covid lockdowns.

Released: September 2021. Narrated by Liv Parker. Produced by Arts Mid North Coast. Original title track by Stewart Peters / Soundshed Music

In this episode of the Art Remedy, we’ll be taking a bit of flashback to March 2020, when the pandemic first hit our shores and our world went into lockdown.

During the pandemic, nearly three-quarters of Australians (73 per cent) sought out artistic and cultural goods to improve their mood and quality of life. The very same sector impacted the most by the shutdowns, is also responsible for helping make our lives more bearable during these times.

When the first restrictions came into place, many artists took their work online to remain connected with their communities. In this episode, I interview artist Jess Miller about her Together Apart Project, and Taren Preston from Warina Domestic & Family Violence Services. I also chat with musician Pam Hata about her experience during the restrictions and how she took her performances online.

In this episode, we pay a visit to the newly built Macksville District Hospital, opened in 2020, on Gumbaynggirr Country, Nambucca Valley.

The new hospital features large scale public art sculptures commissioned through Saltwater Freshwater Arts and created by local Gumbaynggirr artists and community members including school students from Nambucca, Macksville and Bowraville.

Interviews with: Michelle Flanders (Saltwater Freshwater Arts), Ricky Buchanan, Aunty Lauren Jarrett and Brigette Uren, (NSW Health Infrastructure).

Narrated by Liv Parker. Produced by Arts Mid North Coast. Published May 2021.

Launched in May 2021, the Art Remedy Podcast explores the broad benefits that the arts can bring to our health and wellbeing, our spaces and places, our social life and economy, and perhaps a better understanding of each other and the world around us.

Each month, we interview artists, creatives, community members, researchers and experts from a broad range of disciplines to talk about how the arts contribute in many ways to building better communities.

The Art Remedy Podcast - Introduction. Original music composed by Stewart Peters (Soundshed Music). Narrated by Liv Parker. Produced by Arts Mid North Coast.