CREATIVE CARE BACKGROUND
It is an important time to respond creatively to our health and wellbeing.
Established in 2019, Creative Care builds upon School of Art teaching and research projects which explore the intersection between creative practice and health, care and wellbeing. The expertise of Creative Care practitioners and partners is diverse and spans creative practice, design, allied health, social care, urban and global studies, health, social and environmental sciences.
Our interest is in creative, interdisciplinary, and collaborative teaching and research which engages with the creative and care fields and utilise diverse mediums, site specific and social practices for projects which are presented in exhibitions, performances, events and publications.
Creative Care projects are also realised through work integrated learning and creative interventions, artistic residencies, participatory projects and applied and action research undertaken in health and care settings such as hospitals and aged care residences.
TEAM
Creative Care researchers have creative, social and health practices and work with text, video, sound, photography, installation, sculpture, performance, design, printmaking and podcasting.
Our researchers experiment with autonomous and collaborative research methods and are currently working on creative and care responses to COVID-19, mental health, birthing, cultural safety, trust, neuroscience, human and non-human ecologies, housing, and the climate crisis.
Researchers include:
Associate Professor Keely Macarow (Coordinator)
Dr Ruth De Souza (VC Research Fellow)
Associate Professor Dominic Redfern
Associate Professor Philip Samartzis
Dr David Chesworth (VC Research Fellow)
Jerry Galea
Dr Fleur Summers
Dr Pauline Anastasiou
Professor Kit Wise
PROJECTS
Creative Care researchers contribute to interdisciplinary, ethnographic and action research projects with university and industry partners in Australia and abroad.
Project partnerships have been undertaken with organisations including:
Bendigo Health, Victorian Department of Justice and Community Safety, the University of Melbourne and Monash University for the ‘Alone Together’ project (2020).
Stockholm’s Karolinska Institutet, University of Arts Stockholm, Konstfack and Stockholm University to use social and choreographic practices to investigate space and place in elder care and end of life settings (Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare and Swedish Research Council Formas grants, 2014–2019).
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre to present performative and world café events for staff, patients and carers of the Wellbeing Centre (RMIT Capability Development Funding, CAST and RMIT internal funding, 2019).
St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne to produce sound compositions for Emergency patients (ARC Linkage grant, 2008–2011) and a proof-of-concept cardiac monitor in the form of a wearable necklace (Gandel Philanthropy grant, 2014–2015).
CREATIVE CARE TEACHING
Creative Care teaching and postgraduate research training is designed for artists, photographers, creative, design, health, social and aged care and other practitioners to contribute to an interdisciplinary student community of practice and learn about creative, health and social responses to topics such as COVID-19, mental health, disability, racism, violence, the climate crisis and the lived experience of health and the body.
Creative Care MA coursework and MA and PhD students have worked on independent and collaborative projects with diverse mediums and creative, social and design practices to explore care, health and wellbeing through artefacts, installations, videos, sound compositions, textiles, paintings, drawings, ceramics, objects, sculptures, zines, texts, workshops and proof of concept designs.
Creative Care students also engage with work integrated learning opportunities through creative projects in and for health and care settings and partnerships.
Our teaching and postgraduate research students have worked on installation, social practice, video, photography, drawing, sound, object and garden projects for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Alfred Health’s Education and Innovation Lab, the Royal Children’s Hospital, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, the Olivia Newton John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre/ Austin Health and the START Foundation.
Please contact us if you are a creative, health or care organisation that would like to work with Creative Care researchers and students, or if you are interested in Creative Care postgraduate research or coursework opportunities.
FOR FURTHER DETAILS CONTACT
Associate Professor Keely Macarow, Coordinator of Creative Care: keely.macarow@rmit.edu.au
Banner image credit: Just Keep Going_It Is Like Something, Ryoko Kose, 2019, Hemp yarn, RMIT Gallery
Photo credit: Atong Atem