<
https://theconversation.com/our-community-is-small-but-our-spirit-is-strong-how-art-forms-the-heart-of-cobargos-black-summer-fires-recovery-173649>
"On December 31 2019, the catastrophic fires burning across southeastern
Australia reached the small South Coast NSW town of Cobargo in the form of the
Badja Forest Road Fire.
Within just a few hours, roads and bridges were impassable, all critical
infrastructure was destroyed, and 300 homes in the district along with 30% of
businesses in Cobargo’s main street were lost. Six people died, 300,000
hectares were destroyed, and hundreds of kilometres of fencing, thousands of
farm animals and countless native flora and fauna were lost. All this in a
community of just 2,200 people.
Cobargo became, to quote The Times, “the symbol of a country […] in crisis”.
Communities that have experienced catastrophic ruin often face an ongoing cycle
of loss. With material and economic resources largely gone, and significant
trauma present, the resource that is the community – the sense of “us” – often
crumbles.
Emergency and service providers are there at the beginning, providing vital
support, but swiftly move on to the next disaster. The community is then left
to its own resources while psychological damage continues to emerge.
This is where art enters the picture.
Research shows participating in an art practice has the capacity to aid the
healing of individuals and communities. Participants do not need to be artists
in order to gain enormous benefits. The act of engaging in creative expression
helps rebuild connections, improves physical and mental health, and provides
the capacity to begin imagining recovery."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
