PhD Research Project “Our Strength During the Drought”
Abstract
This research is in response to the increasing number of significant challenges faced by regional communities as evidenced by the crippling drought in Central Western Queensland and the recent Cyclone Debbie crisis event, these natural disasters can pose both a potentially unpredictable and severe threat to the wellbeing and resilience of individuals and communities (Bham, Dani & Burnard, 2011). Therefore, the question ‘what is the influence of photographic images as a tool to build resilience and well-being and how does this influence happen’ is my key point of departure for the exploration of a proven model to promote community capacity when faced with ongoing and future crisis events. The key areas of investigation for this research are wellbeing, resilience and community capacity building with the intent of adding and making a contribution to the body of research that has been and continues to be undertaken by Australian Government’s, key agencies and researchers in this field.
The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation developed its Mental Health Promotion Plan establishing a framework for the development of research and program activity focusing on three determinants of mental health: social connectedness, valuing diversity and economic participation. Their findings in relation to arts and the health framework were that the strength of the community arts process is its ability to bring diverse people together around a common project and sense of purpose. This research also intends to understand the impact that taking, editing and sharing images in exhibitions and on social media has on the photographer and how the making and sharing of images builds wellbeing, resilience and capacity in both the photographer and community. According to Mills and Brown “…consultation with key community and government agencies revealed a growing awareness of significance of culture as a factor of wellbeing and an interest in integrated cultural development into those government policies and strategies concerned with wellbeing” (2004, pp. 5-67).
Community arts projects can enhance the skills of participants, improving their ability to function at broader political, social and environmental levels. Using Grounded Theory as my methodology, which is distinguished by its’ comparative and interactive nature, I intend to apply it’s four strategies coding, memo writing, theoretical sampling and theoretical saturation concepts to shape and inform the course of inquiry of my research into the impact of images in promoting well-being, resilience and community capacity (Charmaz, 2008 pp. 155-170). Through the artwork, these projects provided the important dual benefits of connecting socially isolated participants to the mainstream and connecting the mainstream to the socially isolated participants and the process of public acknowledgement through presentation of quality work arising from the project is an important aspect of connecting individuals to the wider community. It is through the lens of these finding that this research intends to explore the impact of images on the photographer, individuals and community in relation to well-being and resilience, the expected contribution of this research is to provide community and individuals with an understanding of what influence images have in relation to wellbeing and resilience and provide them with a proven model to use in future crisis events and any findings from this research may offer a guide to other photographers seeking to use their work to assist communities find their voice through their images.
Media Coverage
https://www.usq.edu.au/news/2018/08/drought-photo-exhibition-18
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-18/outback-residents-capture-resilience-in-the-drought/10129558
No longer active:
http://www.barcaldinerc.qld.gov.au/our-strength-during-the-drought-photo-exhibition
https://www.facebook.com/ourstrengthduringthedrought/
