Collaborative art and storytelling as an empowering tool for service design: South Australian case study.

Abstract

In October 2016, the Margin to Margin research group carried out two art and storytelling workshops with the Anangu Aboriginal communities of South and Western Australia and the Fibrespace Incorporated textile artist group of South Australia. Women artists and craft-makers from the various communities predominantly participated in two intensive art-making and data collection workshops of less than one week each with an emphasis on narrative processes as service design tools. Challenging roles, such as being single mothers, primary household income generators and family caregivers, became apparent in both groups, whether they were remote or regionally based. The women resorted to art and craft-making as a means to cope with hardship, gain empowerment and improve self-realization. The remotely based Anangu Aboriginal communities face additional challenges as a legacy of Australia’s colonial past, resulting in complex political entanglements. The workshops aimed to build empathy with the participants by presenting a platform for dialogue to render audible the stories and artistic processes from outback Australia.

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