WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.760 Well, good morning, everybody. It's lovely to see you all here this morning. 2 00:00:03.980 --> 00:00:10.140 My name's Heather Robinson, and I'm a board member of Adelaide Festival of Ideas Incorporated, 3 00:00:10.180 --> 00:00:13.020 and I'm very happy to see so many of you here this morning. 4 00:00:13.480 --> 00:00:20.600 Welcome to the Art of Redemption, and I'd like to open our conversation today 5 00:00:20.600 --> 00:00:25.020 with a quote by Andrew Hill, who says that, 6 00:00:25.020 --> 00:00:29.780 At the borders, identities collide, certainties turn to uncertainties, 7 00:00:29.880 --> 00:00:32.400 and permissions become transgressions. 8 00:00:33.340 --> 00:00:38.300 At the borders, life may become death, tolerance may become intolerance, 9 00:00:38.360 --> 00:00:43.860 and physical attributes may be used as a rationale to deny and to exclude. 10 00:00:44.280 --> 00:00:49.360 Yet at the borders, there can also be transformation and remaking. 11 00:00:50.460 --> 00:00:53.460 Now, our speakers here this morning will be sharing their experiences 12 00:00:53.460 --> 00:00:55.000 with people who are in the art of redemption, 13 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:58.600 and people who have engaged with art as a means of navigating these borders. 14 00:00:59.960 --> 00:01:05.660 We will first introduce Elias Alavi, who is an art facilitator. 15 00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:12.980 Elias was born in Afghanistan and is an emerging artist and poet, now based in Adelaide. 16 00:01:13.900 --> 00:01:18.420 He has a Master's of Visual Arts from UniSA and has exhibited nationally and internationally. 17 00:01:19.420 --> 00:01:24.920 A second speaker will be Sally Francis, who is the Manager of Arts, 18 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:26.840 in Health at Flinders Medical Centre. 19 00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:30.380 She is also an ambassador for the Institute of Creative Health. 20 00:01:31.220 --> 00:01:37.500 Sally works towards having arts in health programs recognised as an integral part of health services. 21 00:01:38.360 --> 00:01:43.280 Jeremy Ryder, our third speaker, is like me, a PhD at Flinders University, 22 00:01:43.640 --> 00:01:48.400 and he is doing his candidature in Criminology. 23 00:01:49.240 --> 00:01:53.740 Jeremy has been producing exhibitions of prison art since 2012, 24 00:01:54.080 --> 00:01:54.980 and he is also a member of the National Association of Prisoners, 25 00:01:54.980 --> 00:02:00.460 and is exploring the impact and meaning these experiences generate for both artists and their audiences. 26 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:05.200 Now each of our speakers here this morning have some images to share with you. 27 00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:10.620 They will be presenting for five minutes, and then we will have a conversation across the panel, 28 00:02:10.700 --> 00:02:15.740 because there are a lot of crossovers and themes that we'd like to explore together. 29 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:18.780 And then we want to hear what you would think of them. 30 00:02:19.040 --> 00:02:23.500 So we've left some time at the end of the session for conversation and Q&A. 31 00:02:23.500 --> 00:02:29.060 So if you do have any questions or thoughts, please leave them for the final section of this session. 32 00:02:29.420 --> 00:02:33.560 Now we will first like to hear from Elias. 33 00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:35.980 Good morning everyone. 34 00:02:37.220 --> 00:02:42.760 First of all, I would like to acknowledge that the land we meet on today 35 00:02:43.500 --> 00:02:46.980 is the traditional land for the Kaurna people, 36 00:02:47.200 --> 00:02:52.520 and that we respect their spiritual connection and relationship 37 00:02:52.520 --> 00:02:53.600 with their country. 38 00:02:55.600 --> 00:02:58.540 So thank you, Hitha, for the introduction. 39 00:02:59.040 --> 00:03:01.480 So my background is very... 40 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:04.000 just in visual art, 41 00:03:04.200 --> 00:03:11.260 and about one year ago I started working as an art facilitator, 42 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:16.860 working with people with mental challenges. 43 00:03:17.160 --> 00:03:20.040 So my understanding is quite minimum, 44 00:03:20.180 --> 00:03:22.500 and I would like to share some of my experiences 45 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:27.640 and some of the things that I really learned in this year. 46 00:03:28.300 --> 00:03:33.120 It was very interesting that you started with the quote by Andrew Hill about border. 47 00:03:34.120 --> 00:03:38.160 I feel for me as someone who's coming from another country 48 00:03:38.160 --> 00:03:41.300 and had quite a troubled past, 49 00:03:41.560 --> 00:03:46.260 when I came to Australia I found an outsider, 50 00:03:46.420 --> 00:03:51.620 I found quite different and isolated and confused. 51 00:03:51.620 --> 00:03:53.420 And also lost as well. 52 00:03:54.620 --> 00:03:59.400 In a way, when I'm working with artists at Nima National, 53 00:03:59.880 --> 00:04:08.340 I feel they also sharing this feeling as well. 54 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:11.520 So mental health is... 55 00:04:12.620 --> 00:04:19.840 I feel it still is a very largely taboo subject among many communities, 56 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:20.440 and... 57 00:04:21.620 --> 00:04:26.340 and there are lots of artists who are dealing with mental health issues, 58 00:04:26.640 --> 00:04:32.200 and there are lots of famous artists who worked about mental health issues. 59 00:04:32.400 --> 00:04:34.500 For example, as you would know, 60 00:04:35.620 --> 00:04:36.700 artists like Francis Bacon, 61 00:04:37.720 --> 00:04:38.800 Sylvia Plath, 62 00:04:39.620 --> 00:04:44.520 and just to name some of them, 63 00:04:44.700 --> 00:04:48.600 Edvard Munch and Virginia Woolf, Tracy Emin. 64 00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:51.600 All of them, they all worked about... 65 00:04:51.620 --> 00:04:56.560 about their mental health challenges and struggles and journeys. 66 00:04:58.620 --> 00:05:00.720 I'm going to show you some images by... 67 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:04.620 This is a work by an artist called Helen, 68 00:05:04.820 --> 00:05:07.040 and she lives at Elizabeth. 69 00:05:07.460 --> 00:05:16.480 One of the artists who comes to the Nima National art groups. 70 00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:20.380 And she started about four months ago, 71 00:05:20.380 --> 00:05:23.000 and she just came for a visit, 72 00:05:23.160 --> 00:05:25.220 and she wasn't sure that she was going to come back again. 73 00:05:25.400 --> 00:05:32.400 And she told me how she feels quite scared of a white paper or canvas, 74 00:05:32.760 --> 00:05:35.680 and she never painted or drew. 75 00:05:36.760 --> 00:05:37.580 Through conversation, 76 00:05:39.160 --> 00:05:42.640 I told her how once we were all artists, 77 00:05:43.380 --> 00:05:45.700 when we were young and when we were a child, 78 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:48.740 and basically we just need to... 79 00:05:50.380 --> 00:05:53.620 search and try to find that child, 80 00:05:53.880 --> 00:05:57.560 that child artist that is within us. 81 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:02.060 And this is her first painting ever. 82 00:06:02.320 --> 00:06:02.800 So we... 83 00:06:04.380 --> 00:06:06.800 This is happening in second week, 84 00:06:06.900 --> 00:06:10.260 and I just assembled a few objects, 85 00:06:10.500 --> 00:06:11.860 and she started painting. 86 00:06:12.300 --> 00:06:15.660 And I just found that like how she... 87 00:06:16.380 --> 00:06:19.400 She got that self-confidence and self-awareness. 88 00:06:19.400 --> 00:06:22.400 By being able to paint. 89 00:06:23.060 --> 00:06:25.960 This is another of her work, 90 00:06:26.120 --> 00:06:29.280 which I found very, very strong. 91 00:06:30.260 --> 00:06:32.160 So there are... 92 00:06:33.400 --> 00:06:34.700 Art and mental health... 93 00:06:36.360 --> 00:06:39.860 There are many, many connections 94 00:06:39.860 --> 00:06:42.140 between art and mental health. 95 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:45.080 And one of the important thing is 96 00:06:45.080 --> 00:06:47.060 how art liberating. 97 00:06:47.060 --> 00:06:51.400 I'm going to show you this work by... 98 00:06:51.400 --> 00:06:53.920 by an artist called Steven. 99 00:06:54.200 --> 00:06:56.060 And he often... 100 00:06:56.740 --> 00:06:57.560 During the conversation, 101 00:06:57.800 --> 00:07:00.980 he told me how he felt so alienated 102 00:07:00.980 --> 00:07:04.800 and lost the connection with... 103 00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:07.640 with broader community. 104 00:07:08.080 --> 00:07:11.140 And art is something that... 105 00:07:11.140 --> 00:07:15.420 that he can really regain that connection, 106 00:07:15.720 --> 00:07:17.040 especially by exhibiting. 107 00:07:17.060 --> 00:07:19.720 I believe it is quite challenging 108 00:07:19.720 --> 00:07:21.100 in terms of diversity, 109 00:07:21.400 --> 00:07:23.900 and especially for the artists with mental challenges. 110 00:07:24.080 --> 00:07:27.700 And not many galleries really welcome him to show 111 00:07:27.700 --> 00:07:31.000 and exhibiting artworks from... 112 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:32.540 from artists with... 113 00:07:32.540 --> 00:07:34.240 with mental health background. 114 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:35.020 And... 115 00:07:35.740 --> 00:07:37.100 And just recently, 116 00:07:37.340 --> 00:07:38.300 we have this exhibition 117 00:07:38.300 --> 00:07:40.840 as part of the Festival of Idea 118 00:07:40.840 --> 00:07:42.160 at the Kerry Packet Gallery, 119 00:07:42.380 --> 00:07:45.080 which this work is also shown there as well. 120 00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:46.300 That's lovely. 121 00:07:46.300 --> 00:07:47.640 Thank you for sharing those... 122 00:07:48.300 --> 00:07:51.220 those images from people who are suffering... 123 00:07:51.220 --> 00:07:52.080 Well, not so much suffering, 124 00:07:52.220 --> 00:07:54.480 but regaining a lot of their position 125 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:56.580 back within a community, 126 00:07:56.740 --> 00:07:58.960 in which case it is a new community, 127 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:00.400 and then they're coming at it 128 00:08:00.400 --> 00:08:01.660 with another layer of challenge. 129 00:08:02.020 --> 00:08:02.440 That's right. 130 00:08:02.520 --> 00:08:03.320 So it's... 131 00:08:03.320 --> 00:08:04.500 It's really important work. 132 00:08:04.920 --> 00:08:07.360 I think, Sally, we might need to move on soon. 133 00:08:07.400 --> 00:08:07.740 Thank you. 134 00:08:07.800 --> 00:08:08.020 Yeah. 135 00:08:08.760 --> 00:08:11.020 So I'm just going to do a bit of a whistle-stop tour 136 00:08:11.020 --> 00:08:12.300 of arts and health at FMC, 137 00:08:12.900 --> 00:08:13.940 so you get an understanding 138 00:08:13.940 --> 00:08:15.720 as to the breadth of the work that we do. 139 00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:17.500 And I'll pick out a few examples 140 00:08:17.500 --> 00:08:20.060 that demonstrate some of the benefits. 141 00:08:20.500 --> 00:08:24.220 So arts and health at FMC has been running for 21 years now. 142 00:08:24.300 --> 00:08:26.480 We're the largest arts and health program in Australia, 143 00:08:26.780 --> 00:08:29.260 given the sort of diversity of what we do 144 00:08:29.260 --> 00:08:31.280 and the number of staff 145 00:08:31.280 --> 00:08:33.600 and the longevity of the program. 146 00:08:33.780 --> 00:08:36.220 So it's about making the hospital more warm and welcoming. 147 00:08:36.500 --> 00:08:38.520 It's about promoting health and wellbeing 148 00:08:38.520 --> 00:08:40.180 in staff, patients and visitors, 149 00:08:40.520 --> 00:08:42.980 and supporting patient recovery and rehabilitation. 150 00:08:43.640 --> 00:08:45.700 So we sit within the Department of Health 151 00:08:45.720 --> 00:08:47.500 or the Division of Allied Health, 152 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:49.780 and we're a department delivering a service in the hospital, 153 00:08:49.900 --> 00:08:52.780 the same as physio or OT or speech pathology. 154 00:08:53.240 --> 00:08:55.220 There are 10 of us who work on the program. 155 00:08:55.380 --> 00:08:56.480 We all work part-time. 156 00:08:56.500 --> 00:08:59.260 We equate to about four full-time staff. 157 00:09:00.380 --> 00:09:02.480 We have a patient referral system. 158 00:09:02.860 --> 00:09:04.800 So patients can self-refer, 159 00:09:04.820 --> 00:09:06.620 but mostly clinical and medical staff 160 00:09:06.620 --> 00:09:09.960 will refer patients to arts and health for support. 161 00:09:10.980 --> 00:09:13.300 So we have three galleries and an art collection 162 00:09:13.300 --> 00:09:15.700 of about 250 accessioned artworks. 163 00:09:15.720 --> 00:09:18.720 And the galleries provide a place for sort of respite, 164 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:22.100 for reflection and also for inspiration. 165 00:09:22.280 --> 00:09:24.780 And they completely change the hospital environment 166 00:09:25.340 --> 00:09:28.480 just in terms of making it more sort of hospitable. 167 00:09:29.860 --> 00:09:32.440 We have an art trolley that rolls out two days a week. 168 00:09:32.680 --> 00:09:35.200 And I've just given this example here of a patient. 169 00:09:35.280 --> 00:09:36.120 I'll call her Iris. 170 00:09:36.300 --> 00:09:38.440 She had never touched a paintbrush before, 171 00:09:38.560 --> 00:09:41.100 and she painted an image of the view 172 00:09:41.100 --> 00:09:42.640 from her bedroom window in Middleton. 173 00:09:43.540 --> 00:09:45.100 And it was a wonderful work. 174 00:09:45.100 --> 00:09:47.500 And all of a sudden, this patient became 175 00:09:47.500 --> 00:09:49.860 not just her illness in a hospital bed, 176 00:09:50.020 --> 00:09:52.320 but all the staff wanted to come and see the work, 177 00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:53.800 come and see what Iris has done. 178 00:09:53.960 --> 00:09:55.780 The visitors were all talking about it. 179 00:09:55.860 --> 00:09:59.340 And you could see her growing confidence and self-esteem. 180 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:01.860 Her sort of stature doubled in size 181 00:10:01.860 --> 00:10:04.340 as she got this pride in her work. 182 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:08.000 At the same time, another patient actually 183 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:10.980 who'd had trouble sort of, you know, relocating 184 00:10:10.980 --> 00:10:13.080 or finding a place in a residential care 185 00:10:14.040 --> 00:10:15.080 was paid for by the hospital. 186 00:10:15.100 --> 00:10:15.960 And she was painting madly. 187 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:20.640 And actually, this assisted her position in a nursing home 188 00:10:20.640 --> 00:10:23.900 because it proved that she was able to organise herself. 189 00:10:24.040 --> 00:10:25.780 She was able to repeat a task. 190 00:10:25.980 --> 00:10:28.340 And she was able to talk quite lucidly 191 00:10:28.340 --> 00:10:29.460 about what she was doing. 192 00:10:30.060 --> 00:10:32.040 So if we can't get the art trolley 193 00:10:32.040 --> 00:10:33.160 or one of the art services out, 194 00:10:33.220 --> 00:10:35.520 we have a number of art packs and nurture packs also. 195 00:10:35.820 --> 00:10:37.760 The nurture packs are for end-of-life care. 196 00:10:37.860 --> 00:10:39.920 They have a crocheted nanoblanket, 197 00:10:39.920 --> 00:10:42.460 sort of organic natural objects, 198 00:10:42.540 --> 00:10:44.460 shells from the beach, a pebble to hold, 199 00:10:44.460 --> 00:10:46.960 a journal for your thoughts, colouring in, 200 00:10:47.100 --> 00:10:48.840 and things to decorate the room. 201 00:10:48.920 --> 00:10:52.500 So they provide a tool for the carers and for the patient 202 00:10:52.500 --> 00:10:55.560 to be taking some control over their environment 203 00:10:55.560 --> 00:10:58.700 at a time when, obviously, nobody wants to die in hospital. 204 00:10:59.420 --> 00:11:01.320 So it softens the environment. 205 00:11:01.400 --> 00:11:02.760 It humanises the environment. 206 00:11:03.040 --> 00:11:05.360 And the feedback is that it completely changes 207 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:07.260 the experience of death for that... 208 00:11:07.260 --> 00:11:09.360 for the family members especially. 209 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:13.040 And I think this goes beyond just that experience in hospital 210 00:11:13.040 --> 00:11:15.260 but helps with actually resolving 211 00:11:15.260 --> 00:11:17.620 and coming to terms with grief and with loss. 212 00:11:18.160 --> 00:11:19.940 We have a large music program. 213 00:11:20.160 --> 00:11:22.440 Eva Harper, she starts work in operating theatres 214 00:11:22.440 --> 00:11:23.740 in the Holding Bay in the morning. 215 00:11:23.920 --> 00:11:26.880 There's research that shows if patients go into theatre 216 00:11:26.880 --> 00:11:29.520 in a relaxed, less anxious state, 217 00:11:29.620 --> 00:11:31.360 they respond better to anaesthetics, 218 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:33.400 they go through surgery better, 219 00:11:33.500 --> 00:11:34.920 and they actually recover faster. 220 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:38.300 The music for relaxation uses Tibetan singing bowls 221 00:11:38.300 --> 00:11:40.800 and voice to take people into deep states of relaxation. 222 00:11:41.320 --> 00:11:43.020 And I've got the photo of a land valoge 223 00:11:43.040 --> 00:11:43.480 that I've got on the screen. 224 00:11:43.480 --> 00:11:45.380 He's a guitarist who plays regularly in the hospital. 225 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:48.040 About six months ago, we got a message 226 00:11:48.640 --> 00:11:50.460 from a consultant in the hospital 227 00:11:50.460 --> 00:11:52.440 who two years ago had become suddenly ill 228 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:53.880 and was admitted to hospital. 229 00:11:54.160 --> 00:11:55.840 In his six-week stay at the hospital, 230 00:11:55.880 --> 00:11:57.840 he heard a piece of music, a guitar music, 231 00:11:57.980 --> 00:11:59.140 and he used to play the guitar. 232 00:12:00.140 --> 00:12:02.500 And it triggered something in him. 233 00:12:02.640 --> 00:12:06.340 When he went to rehab, they brought his guitar into rehab 234 00:12:06.340 --> 00:12:08.660 and he learnt to play completely from scratch again. 235 00:12:08.940 --> 00:12:11.960 He then went on to do a certificate in music performance 236 00:12:11.960 --> 00:12:13.280 at the Elder Conservatorium, 237 00:12:13.300 --> 00:12:14.620 and he's back working in the hospital. 238 00:12:14.820 --> 00:12:18.200 And he emailed us to say that when he heard that piece of music, 239 00:12:18.400 --> 00:12:20.980 it changed, unlocked something in him. 240 00:12:21.020 --> 00:12:23.180 It was about unlocking potential and possibility 241 00:12:23.960 --> 00:12:25.480 and providing hope and direction. 242 00:12:25.720 --> 00:12:27.940 So I think these things happen all the time. 243 00:12:28.260 --> 00:12:30.660 You know, we're a public institution. 244 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:32.440 People pass through the hospital, 245 00:12:32.500 --> 00:12:35.780 and we never know at the other end what's affected them, 246 00:12:35.820 --> 00:12:36.960 but it can be long-term. 247 00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:39.520 We have music therapists, art therapists. 248 00:12:39.780 --> 00:12:41.640 They sit within the clinical teams. 249 00:12:41.960 --> 00:12:44.140 They work towards specific clinical outcomes. 250 00:12:44.840 --> 00:12:46.420 We have artists in residence. 251 00:12:46.540 --> 00:12:50.260 Our writer in residence does weekly workshops with poetry, 252 00:12:50.460 --> 00:12:52.280 with creative writing and poetry, 253 00:12:52.380 --> 00:12:53.580 with the eating disorder patients. 254 00:12:53.900 --> 00:12:55.040 And this is an anthology, 255 00:12:55.180 --> 00:12:57.280 I Will Shout All the Things I Have to Be Grateful For, 256 00:12:57.340 --> 00:12:58.280 which we've just published. 257 00:12:58.520 --> 00:13:01.420 And this work is incredibly powerful and moving. 258 00:13:01.800 --> 00:13:05.060 And by actually that process of writing the poetry 259 00:13:05.060 --> 00:13:07.040 and choosing those specific words, 260 00:13:07.160 --> 00:13:09.020 the participants, the patients, 261 00:13:09.120 --> 00:13:11.240 have actually been able to communicate what it's like, 262 00:13:11.240 --> 00:13:12.660 not only to have an eating disorder, 263 00:13:12.860 --> 00:13:15.420 but to be hospitalised often for long periods of time. 264 00:13:16.040 --> 00:13:18.080 We also have many student placements 265 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:19.340 and work with medical education. 266 00:13:19.540 --> 00:13:21.720 So we work with the doctors, the medical students, 267 00:13:21.860 --> 00:13:26.140 to develop good communication skills, listening skills, 268 00:13:26.580 --> 00:13:28.540 and a holistic approach to health. 269 00:13:28.760 --> 00:13:30.900 And using things like reflective writing. 270 00:13:31.080 --> 00:13:32.880 You know, the words you choose are important. 271 00:13:33.100 --> 00:13:34.280 The way you say things, 272 00:13:34.380 --> 00:13:37.260 the way you write things in patient notes makes a difference. 273 00:13:37.740 --> 00:13:40.280 So the program is really broad. 274 00:13:40.280 --> 00:13:44.120 It's really flexible and adaptable to each patient's needs. 275 00:13:45.040 --> 00:13:46.460 That's great, Sally. Thank you. 276 00:13:46.660 --> 00:13:51.760 And I think that theme of regaining some sense of identity 277 00:13:52.280 --> 00:13:56.040 and agency within such an environment is really important 278 00:13:56.040 --> 00:13:59.580 and probably something we can pick up with at the conversation after this. 279 00:13:59.720 --> 00:14:01.900 But please, Jeremy, would you like to share your perspectives? 280 00:14:02.300 --> 00:14:03.620 Yeah. Hello. 281 00:14:03.740 --> 00:14:07.420 Thanks, Heather and Elias and Sally and everyone. 282 00:14:08.840 --> 00:14:10.260 Yeah, that was really... 283 00:14:10.280 --> 00:14:13.940 It was really interesting to hear your presentations then 284 00:14:13.940 --> 00:14:19.500 because prison is a major institution, just like the hospital is. 285 00:14:20.560 --> 00:14:22.600 Prison is also an institution 286 00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:27.020 where people are increasingly presenting with mental health issues. 287 00:14:27.680 --> 00:14:28.580 It's also... 288 00:14:28.580 --> 00:14:31.160 I'm sure it'll come as no surprise. 289 00:14:31.400 --> 00:14:34.520 It's a good place to exacerbate existing mental conditions. 290 00:14:35.140 --> 00:14:37.880 Prison's a great place to develop one if you don't have one, 291 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:39.160 particularly around depression 292 00:14:39.160 --> 00:14:40.680 and issues of self-esteem. 293 00:14:43.240 --> 00:14:45.840 But I'm Jeremy and in 2011, 294 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:49.780 I went over to the UK and did a volunteer placement 295 00:14:49.780 --> 00:14:52.840 at an organisation called the Kersler Trust. 296 00:14:53.260 --> 00:14:57.540 And they've been producing annual exhibitions of art in the UK 297 00:14:57.540 --> 00:14:59.620 for over 50 years now. 298 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:02.720 And I went over and sort of learnt what they did 299 00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:04.020 and then I've come back to... 300 00:15:04.560 --> 00:15:08.160 ..came back to South Australia and I sort of applied that model here. 301 00:15:10.620 --> 00:15:12.740 And just a quick plug, 302 00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:15.200 Elias's exhibition is currently, I know, 303 00:15:15.260 --> 00:15:18.040 in the Kerry Packer Civic Gallery at UniSA across the road. 304 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:20.320 The next exhibition there will be 305 00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:22.600 the Art by Prisoners exhibition this year 306 00:15:22.600 --> 00:15:26.000 and that'll be for Salah, so come and check it out. 307 00:15:27.620 --> 00:15:31.160 But as I said, the Kersler Trust takes art... 308 00:15:32.060 --> 00:15:32.340 They have... 309 00:15:32.340 --> 00:15:35.100 But what the Kersler do really is use art 310 00:15:35.100 --> 00:15:37.660 to create the sorts of interactions 311 00:15:37.660 --> 00:15:41.700 that really you were just talking about then, 312 00:15:41.800 --> 00:15:45.860 only it's very hard to get those interactions from within prison. 313 00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:51.700 But just like the patient who painted the view from the window, 314 00:15:52.280 --> 00:15:55.780 all of a sudden, that painting was able to sort of fracture 315 00:15:55.780 --> 00:15:59.940 her patient identity and people were coming and interacting with her, 316 00:16:00.020 --> 00:16:03.540 not just as patient but as, you know, as artists, as... 317 00:16:05.500 --> 00:16:07.640 And that's, you know, 318 00:16:07.640 --> 00:16:11.380 in a way what the Kersler Trust and what I call 319 00:16:11.380 --> 00:16:14.700 the Art by Prisoners program has done as well. 320 00:16:14.900 --> 00:16:19.600 And so just to give you an example 321 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:24.860 of the interactions that these exhibitions... 322 00:16:24.860 --> 00:16:27.680 which is the intention of these exhibitions, really, 323 00:16:29.500 --> 00:16:30.420 I've brought... 324 00:16:31.220 --> 00:16:34.500 Within that wall, there's a poem in the top right-hand corner 325 00:16:34.500 --> 00:16:37.260 which you can't read, but I'll give you a few moments. 326 00:16:37.640 --> 00:16:42.200 I don't know if you can read this poem, 327 00:16:42.380 --> 00:16:45.300 but I'll give you a few moments just to take in the words. 328 00:16:46.860 --> 00:16:48.480 So very similar issues. 329 00:16:48.680 --> 00:16:51.460 Again, people dealing with trauma, grief, loss. 330 00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:58.400 And the exhibition has sort of feedback mechanisms in it 331 00:16:58.400 --> 00:17:04.840 that really I ask the audience to leave comments for the artists 332 00:17:04.840 --> 00:17:07.040 and then I send those comments back 333 00:17:07.040 --> 00:17:10.020 as a way of creating those positive feedback loops. 334 00:17:10.180 --> 00:17:16.080 So, for example, these are some public responses to that artwork. 335 00:17:16.540 --> 00:17:22.020 And then I sent them back to the young woman who wrote that 336 00:17:22.020 --> 00:17:24.720 and then she wrote this nice paragraph back. 337 00:17:25.100 --> 00:17:31.220 So in a sense, again, doing very much what Elias and Sally are doing, 338 00:17:31.280 --> 00:17:34.400 but obviously from within the prison context, 339 00:17:34.500 --> 00:17:36.360 it's really hard to get that feedback loop 340 00:17:36.360 --> 00:17:38.960 between the prison and the community going. 341 00:17:39.300 --> 00:17:43.120 And when you do that in the context of an exhibition, 342 00:17:43.640 --> 00:17:46.900 it sort of creates, I think, an important cultural space 343 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:52.780 to, I guess, have alternative conversations around prisons, 344 00:17:53.140 --> 00:17:57.120 around how many people are in them, about what it does to people 345 00:17:57.120 --> 00:18:00.100 and what we expect from them as well. 346 00:18:00.540 --> 00:18:04.560 And I guess, really, it's a visual art exhibition, 347 00:18:04.560 --> 00:18:08.200 so that's not a great example because it was a poem, 348 00:18:08.380 --> 00:18:10.320 but I've just brought... 349 00:18:10.320 --> 00:18:14.680 That young woman entered this work this year 350 00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:18.200 and I think she's actually quite a talented illustrator 351 00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:21.360 and I think you also have to remember that people work really with basic materials, 352 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:26.060 so really very, very cheap basic materials are available. 353 00:18:28.260 --> 00:18:28.660 And... 354 00:18:28.660 --> 00:18:32.440 Oh, I thought I'd have a couple of more images, but that was the last one. 355 00:18:33.400 --> 00:18:33.800 So... 356 00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:36.680 Yeah, I'll leave it there, 357 00:18:36.760 --> 00:18:42.940 but that's really, in a nutshell, what the exhibition tries to do. 358 00:18:43.160 --> 00:18:45.360 Well, that's a brilliant point, I think, 359 00:18:45.360 --> 00:18:47.240 which we can open it up as a conversation 360 00:18:47.240 --> 00:18:50.900 because that sense of belonging and that sense of identity, 361 00:18:51.220 --> 00:18:54.740 all of these things seem to be elements 362 00:18:54.740 --> 00:18:59.280 that are very key to our existence as humans, 363 00:18:59.540 --> 00:19:02.520 that, even from an evolutionary perspective, 364 00:19:02.860 --> 00:19:04.260 you know, we're hard-wired. 365 00:19:04.560 --> 00:19:06.960 We're not meant to want to belong and to be part of a community. 366 00:19:07.320 --> 00:19:11.460 And in each of the instances that you guys are speaking to, 367 00:19:12.280 --> 00:19:14.300 that is fractured, that's taken away. 368 00:19:15.580 --> 00:19:18.240 And I'm just wondering about the process 369 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:23.380 of each of the people who find themselves on the other side of this border. 370 00:19:23.660 --> 00:19:27.800 How do they come to the art or how do they find that creative expression? 371 00:19:28.240 --> 00:19:29.800 Does it take much convincing? 372 00:19:31.380 --> 00:19:32.420 I think... 373 00:19:32.420 --> 00:19:33.480 Well, in the hospital environment, 374 00:19:33.480 --> 00:19:35.400 we work all through the hospital, 375 00:19:35.460 --> 00:19:38.260 from neonatal intensive care through to haematology, 376 00:19:39.120 --> 00:19:42.040 all departments, and it really varies. 377 00:19:42.120 --> 00:19:47.100 There are people who would already have a pre-existing either experience 378 00:19:47.100 --> 00:19:48.020 or skill in art, 379 00:19:48.120 --> 00:19:52.180 or people who have never, ever, you know, had any experience at all. 380 00:19:52.300 --> 00:19:57.060 So I think often it's so unexpected in the hospital environment 381 00:19:57.060 --> 00:20:00.720 to have someone come up to ask you if you want to engage. 382 00:20:00.780 --> 00:20:02.380 And when you do take that step, 383 00:20:02.460 --> 00:20:03.320 either as an individual 384 00:20:03.480 --> 00:20:05.400 or in a referral or in a group, 385 00:20:06.080 --> 00:20:08.220 it is hugely empowering. 386 00:20:08.920 --> 00:20:12.000 And I think it also has the element 387 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:14.320 of being able to take control over an environment. 388 00:20:14.460 --> 00:20:16.780 So I think one of the things we all have in common, 389 00:20:16.820 --> 00:20:18.320 and certainly the hospital and the prison, 390 00:20:18.420 --> 00:20:20.300 is that you're in an unfamiliar environment. 391 00:20:20.560 --> 00:20:23.060 You're dislocated from everything that is normal 392 00:20:23.060 --> 00:20:25.980 or normal and familiar to you. 393 00:20:26.980 --> 00:20:28.980 And that can be really disempowering. 394 00:20:29.020 --> 00:20:32.520 So what the activities do is actually enable people 395 00:20:32.520 --> 00:20:35.400 to take some control over their environment. 396 00:20:35.620 --> 00:20:36.540 I mean, it sounds really silly. 397 00:20:36.620 --> 00:20:38.420 I think one of the things in the hospital also is that 398 00:20:38.420 --> 00:20:40.240 the art trolley can go up to someone and say, 399 00:20:40.300 --> 00:20:41.340 would you like to do something? 400 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:42.360 And they might say no. 401 00:20:42.760 --> 00:20:44.080