On the 4th of January 2019 our first viewing in Australia of the film The Art of Migration’ produced in 2017 by Matteo Fiorucci and Bernardo Angeletti, was presented in South Australia, thanks to the Willunga Circle Of Friends for Refugees, : members of the audience in the packed hall included artists, therapists, scientists, musicians and community members actively engaged, or interested in, supporting refugees arriving in both the local area and wider Australia .
The Make Art Not Walls approach can be described as holistic: in the open studio space, resident volunteers and new arrivals are all potentially creating new communities and mapping future models of society. This was evidenced in the film, and commented on during discussion.
After the film showing a highly engaged public responded with questions and comments regarding the role of the arts in ‘creating new worlds’ during transitional moments in the lives of both new arrivals and long-term residents. Our experience was discussed through the lenses of both art therapy and contemporary art practice; observed were issues around not only transitions through trauma and change for refugees , but also experiences of (abrupt,unforeseen) terminations of volunteer activities which can be , once again, traumatic echoings of the precariousness of past experiences.
A special thanks to planner/organiser Fiona Ryan with the support of Maarten Ryder for making the event so successful .
Engage with some of the public after the event as they react to the presentation by clicking: ‘The Art of Migration’ presentation in Willunga Hub, South Australia: 4/1/2019
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