After the rupture: Art as Soul Repair

Abstract

This paper is about an arts project, The Forgotten People, undertaken in the first half of 2022 with a group of former clients and staff of a Melbourne sexual assault service which underwent an aggressive structural and cultural change that had profound negative effects on both. Whilst the service, and its parent, a major Melbourne public hospital, refused to engage in any form of respectful conversation addressing the pain their Carelessness was causing, a creative community formed to express their feelings in art. Our aim was to create together, to initiate ‘soul repair’, to communicate with the health providers, and for the project to be of service in other organizations where client needs can easily be overlooked. It is a paper about the transformation of those involved from feeling isolated and intimidated by their experiences with the service and hospital, to feeling part of a collective of people doing something positive and uplifting as an act of Care.