At Community Vision, we are always looking for innovative therapies to offer to our customers and the community. We look for programs that help customers connect with one another, the broader community as well as give them the time and space to connect with and express themselves.
One program that does exactly this is the Community Vision Art Program, led by qualified Art Therapist, Lisa Kempster. The program has been one of the most popular programs in recent years and runs for both our Disability and Aged Care customers. It is a time where customers can get creative, learn new skills and make new friends.
The program was recently approached by Sean Adamas, a local artist, to be part of his newest installation, hART – My Neighbourhood, a Community Art Project to be displayed during the Joondalup Festival. Sean teamed up with Lisa and the Community Vision Art Program to run a series of workshops which gave all participants the opportunity to create artworks based on the flora and fauna that is commonly found within the Joondalup region.
Throughout the course of the workshops participants used a diverse range of art mediums and techniques. This included experimenting with watercolours, acrylic paints, ink markers, coloured pencils and oil pastels. The works created by customers from the Community Vision Art Program were incredibly varied and showcased each artist’s unique flair, colour choices and artistic style.
The artworks produced were used along with around 2000 others from the community to form a large art installation, a nine-piece heart-shaped tunnel, made up of tiles of drawings with each participant contributing their own story to the public artwork.
Sean says the artwork was inspired by a lady who recently shared a childhood memory with him.
“When she was young, her mother asked her to look around the neighbourhood while walking to and from school and to describe what she saw every day,” he said.
“Now she is in her 70s, and she still pays close attention to the surroundings: how trees, objects, and structures make a location special and iconic.
“She also finds certain objects fascinating based on how they cast shadows or how they appear to change colour depending on the lighting.
“This anecdote is the reason why I wanted the participants to discover what makes their neighbourhood special and memorable,” he said.
Much fun was had by all during these Workshops and Community Vision Art participants were greatly appreciative to be involved with this exciting project and Festival. The community art installation was displayed at the picturesque Hillarys Boat Harbour as part of the Joondalup Festival.
