Where the arts sector and health sector collide, forms a field of practice, Arts in as a field has several distinct areas of practice:
DADAAWA has been at the forefront of the Australian Arts and Health movement over the past twelve years; Initially developing the organization’s practice and approach within a large residential health care settings in the suburbs of Perth, where in DADAAWA’s first staff trialed the development of Arts and Disability practices through a combination of community theatre, visual and public art, CCD projects, video production and community writing.
During this period of DADAAWA’s early development artsworkers had the relative luxury of applying Arts and Disability practices within small group of children, young people and adults, who experienced acquired brain injury, cerebral Palsy and Muscular Dystrophy.
Highly segregated at this time within institutional confines, DADAAWA’s capacity to meet the broader cultural participation needs of Western Australians with disabilities was narrow. What quickly became apparent to staff working with DADAAWA at this time was the need to respond to the stated desire of people with disabilities, through the development of community based programs, outside of clinical or accommodation support settings.
This move saw DADAAWA relocate to Fremantle and commence long term relationships with the Cities of Fremantle and Melville, who played a critical role in supporting DADAAWA to facilitate community arts projects that were inclusive of local people with disabilities.
Today DADAAAWA is working across 46 WA communities with staff and programs located in 11 Local Government regions. As DADAAWA has evolved the organization has positioned to meet the huge diversity of Arts and Health needs encountered by West Australians with disabilities and or mental illness, it’s a highly flexible and individualized program, offering a mix of inclusive, segregated, community based, regional, institutionalized and residential programs six days a week around WA.
DADAAWA’s approach to Arts and Health is largely hybrid, marrying practices more usually associated with community arts practices with Health service models, such as Social Participation, Respite, Intensive Family Support and Aged Care.
Key to the organization’s practice is the central role of the Artsworker as core to all programs, therapeutic outcomes for participants are valued by DADAAWA, however are measured as secondary outcomes against cultural and artistic participation and outputs.
To date DADAAWA’s real interest in Arts and Health has been focused on the use of Arts and Health as a tool through which to promote social goals for excluded members of the community, particularly for people with disabilities and or mental illness. DADAA’s intent has not been focused on cultural access alone but rather to reflect the incredible cultural and social voice of people with disabilities and or mental illness, promote self advocacy through the arts and celebrate the unique perspectives of these communities.
To day you will find DADAAWA working to address broader public health objectives, such as ageing and disability, social participation, social isolation within the mental health community, cultural inclusion, indigenous disability and emerging communities and disability.
A recent DADAAWA partnership Disseminate combines the forces of the Rio Tinto WA Future Fund, Healthway and HEPU to underpin the research and evaluation functions of DADAAWA through a long term cross State / cross community project, specifically designed to result in qualitative and quantitative into the health impacts of Arts and Disability practices.
- Arts in Healthcare settings
- Community Arts in Heath
- Arts Therapy
DADAAWA has been at the forefront of the Australian Arts and Health movement over the past twelve years; Initially developing the organization’s practice and approach within a large residential health care settings in the suburbs of Perth, where in DADAAWA’s first staff trialed the development of Arts and Disability practices through a combination of community theatre, visual and public art, CCD projects, video production and community writing.
During this period of DADAAWA’s early development artsworkers had the relative luxury of applying Arts and Disability practices within small group of children, young people and adults, who experienced acquired brain injury, cerebral Palsy and Muscular Dystrophy.
Highly segregated at this time within institutional confines, DADAAWA’s capacity to meet the broader cultural participation needs of Western Australians with disabilities was narrow. What quickly became apparent to staff working with DADAAWA at this time was the need to respond to the stated desire of people with disabilities, through the development of community based programs, outside of clinical or accommodation support settings.
This move saw DADAAWA relocate to Fremantle and commence long term relationships with the Cities of Fremantle and Melville, who played a critical role in supporting DADAAWA to facilitate community arts projects that were inclusive of local people with disabilities.
Today DADAAAWA is working across 46 WA communities with staff and programs located in 11 Local Government regions. As DADAAWA has evolved the organization has positioned to meet the huge diversity of Arts and Health needs encountered by West Australians with disabilities and or mental illness, it’s a highly flexible and individualized program, offering a mix of inclusive, segregated, community based, regional, institutionalized and residential programs six days a week around WA.
DADAAWA’s approach to Arts and Health is largely hybrid, marrying practices more usually associated with community arts practices with Health service models, such as Social Participation, Respite, Intensive Family Support and Aged Care.
Key to the organization’s practice is the central role of the Artsworker as core to all programs, therapeutic outcomes for participants are valued by DADAAWA, however are measured as secondary outcomes against cultural and artistic participation and outputs.
To date DADAAWA’s real interest in Arts and Health has been focused on the use of Arts and Health as a tool through which to promote social goals for excluded members of the community, particularly for people with disabilities and or mental illness. DADAA’s intent has not been focused on cultural access alone but rather to reflect the incredible cultural and social voice of people with disabilities and or mental illness, promote self advocacy through the arts and celebrate the unique perspectives of these communities.
To day you will find DADAAWA working to address broader public health objectives, such as ageing and disability, social participation, social isolation within the mental health community, cultural inclusion, indigenous disability and emerging communities and disability.
A recent DADAAWA partnership Disseminate combines the forces of the Rio Tinto WA Future Fund, Healthway and HEPU to underpin the research and evaluation functions of DADAAWA through a long term cross State / cross community project, specifically designed to result in qualitative and quantitative into the health impacts of Arts and Disability practices.
Events
Click on the links below to view the various programs available through ARTS and HEALTHIntergrate - Post School options Programs