PROJECT MEMORIES: A COMMUNITY-BASED ARTS PROJECT FROM AN ART THERAPY PERSPECTIVE IN SINGAPORE - JOCAT

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PROJECT MEMORIES: A COMMUNITY-BASED ARTS PROJECT FROM AN ART THERAPY PERSPECTIVE IN SINGAPORE - JOCAT
Project Memories: A community-based arts project from an
art therapy perspective in Singapore

Yoko Choi Chi Mei, Roshni Bhatia, Boo Xu Ning, Lee Shulian

Abstract
   This paper documents the development of Project Memories: Hawker Edition (Project M) in Singapore,
   which was implemented by four art therapists amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Project M collaborated
   with different multi-generational groups within the community. The project was funded by a local arts
   organisation and the outcome included 57 art-based workshops with over 125 artworks created. Multiple
   case-vignettes are used to illustrate the three themes: multi-generational narrative art, materiality and
   nostalgia, which brought about therapeutic opportunities for intimacy, social connectedness, community
   bonding, empathy, self-esteem, a sense of identity and positive emotions for the participants. The paper
   concludes with a reflection of the art therapists’ perspectives on developing a community-based arts project
   such as this with multi-generations, which addresses the future directions of similar work in Singapore.

Keywords
   Community-based arts, Singapore, multi-generations, narratives, materiality, nostalgia

Introduction                                             local arts organisation and collaborated with different
                                                         multi-generational groups within the community.
Art therapists are expanding their practice beyond
                                                         The outcomes included 57 art-making workshops,
clinical boundaries, striving to bring therapeutic
                                                         with over 125 artworks created. The article will give
experiences to support the social well-being of
                                                         an overview of Project M, the challenges faced due
individuals and communities. In Singapore, art
                                                         to Covid-19, the potential therapeutic benefits of the
therapy is considered an emerging profession in the
                                                         community-based workshops, and the implications
mainstream social services and has progressively
                                                         of such community-based arts projects in Singapore.
been recognised in the mental health sector in
recent years (Kelly et al., 2017; Lay, 2018). The need
                                                         Context
for advocacy and educational efforts to expand and
deepen the social awareness of art as a therapeutic      Project M implements culturally focused art
tool to support mental health remains essential,         directives that lead participants to explore beyond
if not critical. Community-based art projects act        their (intra)personal connections. As participants
as a conduit between art spaces and art therapy          observe their subjective experiences in relation to
practice. By making art more accessible to the           other people, places and materials in the space, the
public, it benefits the community’s well-being. This     reciprocity of perspectives specific to the cultural
notion is supported by a growing number of studies       and social influences of that space and time also
that examine the relationship between visual arts        communicate their overall experiences (Atkinson
engagement and the reduction of mental health            et al., 2019).
conditions in the community (Rashith, 2018;                  Hawker centres are social spaces that embrace
Yoong, 2020).                                            people from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.
    This article documents Project Memories:             They are a representation of Singapore’s living
Hawker Edition (Project M), an initiative by four        heritage, built from an amalgam of cultures (National
art therapists (Collective), from its conception to      Heritage Board, 2021; Yong, 2020). Imagine the
production. The project received funding from a          flavourful intermix of scents and noises from the

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PROJECT MEMORIES: A COMMUNITY-BASED ARTS PROJECT FROM AN ART THERAPY PERSPECTIVE IN SINGAPORE - JOCAT
spices and wok hei (a Cantonese term describing the          art therapists came together to curate a physical
     charred aroma from stir-frying of the wok over open          exhibition in a large local community hub. The final
     flames) to the slurping and chatting of customers            physical artworks, participants’ narratives and a
     from the youngest to the oldest at the tables, in a          5 minute 20 second video documentation of the
     well-ventilated, high-roof-top dining hall, creating a       project were showcased.
     symphony that is unique to Singapore’s hawker scene.             The art therapists embraced the responsibilities
         Our present-day hawker centres are a spin-off            of both curators and docents in the art exhibition.
     from street-hawker stalls that emerged in Singapore          Some of the curatorial work included orchestrating
     in the early 1800s. The street hawkers then were             the art exhibits in the physical space to make the
     primarily immigrants, who introduced cuisines                exhibition site relevant and engaging for the viewers
     from their home countries. Throughout the years              (Wittman, 2012). To gaze at the art exhibits was
     and over the generations, the hawkers adapted their          one level of the bodily experience; to understand
     home recipes to match the evolving taste buds of             the exhibit narratives was another (Duthie, 1990).
     the locals. In essence, hawker centres make space            The docent guided the viewers around the exhibits
     for people to reconnect with their roots, bond and           and explained to them the connections between the
     reminisce over cuisines that spark conversations and         artwork displays and the objectives of Project M. To
     memories (National Heritage Board, 2021; Roots,              preserve the integrity of the voice of the community
     2021). As a significant cultural symbol of diversity         and minimise biased projections, the art therapists
     and heritage, Singapore’s hawker culture was deemed          created response art and engaged in reflective process
     as a fitting catalyst in stirring dialogues with different   writing to contain any forms of ambivalence or
     generations. The senior communities were the first to        nuances (Fish, 2012).
     be on board.
         The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019            Community-based arts project
     significantly impacted the project. This resulted            in Singapore
     in changes in the entire structure of the public             Several art therapists have emphasised the need
     engagement, with a reduced budget and changes                to expand their practice to community settings
     in the timeline. The project was put on hold for             (Hocoy, 2007; Kapitan, 2009; Talwar, 2016). Coss
     recalibration and reconceptualisation. The initial           and Wong (2016), in their article ‘Cultural context
     plans involving face-to-face interactions within             and the practice of art therapy in Asia’, write that art
     the community and a site-specific exhibition were            therapists in Singapore expressed the need for more
     nearly impossible. Amidst the uncertainty in the             community-based services as compared to a private
     overall social and economic environment, the                 practice that has gained popularity in the country’s
     project inevitably transitioned online to meet the           successful economy. In recent years, the trend for
     funding timeline.                                            therapeutic arts projects has been picking up, with
         Eventually, Project M adopted a combination              more emphasis on mental health in the arts scene
     of publicity and outreach methods, both online and           (Stuckey & Nobel, 2010).
     blended digital marketing strategies. Different social           The National Arts Council (2019), a key
     media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and             organisation overseeing the development of the
     the Collective’s website (https://www.wefoundspace.          arts in Singapore, set its vision for 2018–2022 as
     com/projects) were used. An open call for artwork            ‘Excellence that inspires our people and connects our
     submissions from various generations was initiated           communities’. Hoe (as cited in Xue, 2019) observes
     in four languages, both digitally and physically,            that the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth
     together with several online tutorials and online art        has made significant adjustments in their cultural
     workshops for members of the public to create art            policy-making towards empowering social cohesion
     together in response to the hawker theme.                    and community building. Moving in tandem,
         The result was a myriad of multimedia artworks           the two statutory boards have created significant
     and interactive experiences. As the safe-distancing          opportunities for art therapists to bring arts into
     guidelines for Covid-19 were still ongoing, the              the community spaces to promote community
     plan for a site-specific exhibition at the selected          well-being (Xue, 2019).
     hawker centre did not materialise. Despite that, the

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PROJECT MEMORIES: A COMMUNITY-BASED ARTS PROJECT FROM AN ART THERAPY PERSPECTIVE IN SINGAPORE - JOCAT
Ethics                                                     issue. With a similar view, Project M invited the
                                                           multi-generational groups to share their perspectives,
Art therapists bear social responsibilities and
                                                           personal experiences and dialogue through art-
maintain professional integrity in accordance
                                                           making centring around the local culture.
with the codes of art therapy ethics and principles
                                                               Narrative therapy advocates that people are
of professional practice established locally and
                                                           experts in their own lives. They are capable of
internationally (American Art Therapy Association,
                                                           problem solving when guided appropriately.
2017; Art Therapists’ Association of Singapore, 2021;
                                                           Through a narrative inquiry approach, clients can
Australia, New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts
                                                           re-story their life script, externalise feelings of their
Therapies Association, 2018; British Association
                                                           ‘undesired’ realities and re-author their individual
of Art Therapy, 2019; Personal Data Protection
                                                           experiences (Madigan, 2011). A narrative approach
Commission Singapore, 2021, to name a few), even if
                                                           in community work focuses on interpreting people’s
the work is not clinical per se. One characteristic of
                                                           experiences through the use of language, either
Singaporean culture is to speak Singlish, an informal
                                                           written or verbal, or visual representations (Clarke,
localised English language. It intermixes elements
                                                           2021). In art therapy, the use of narrative approach
of different languages and dialects that reflect the
                                                           or storytelling is common, as clients often use the
unique multi-ethnic Singaporean identity (Yeo,
                                                           narratives of the artworks or art-making process to
2010). Singlish signifies a sense of intimacy, humour,
                                                           reflect upon their lived experiences.
national pride and belonging to the local community.
                                                               When integrating the two approaches in the
    Given that the first and second authors of this
                                                           examination of all the collected narratives from
article are not Singaporeans, as foreigners facilitating
                                                           the various generation groups, a common concern
a local project they learnt and adapted Singlish to
                                                           emerged from several participants from different
connect, particularly with the heartlanders – a term
                                                           generations. Many had externalised their emotions
often used to refer to less educated people, middle-
                                                           about their experiences with Covid-19 more than
to-low income blue-collar workers (Lee, 2015).
                                                           exploring the hawker theme. A narrative approach
Having the cultural sensibility to stay connected
                                                           allowed multi-generations to touch on more urgent
with the locals is part of the art therapists’ ethical
                                                           issues in their existing realities or the world. Here are
considerations.
                                                           two examples to illustrate.
    This article begins with the inception of Project
                                                               An international student narrated her experience
M and is followed with a discussion of the findings
                                                           of Covid-19 using her art as follows:
in the next sections. The article concludes with a
reflection of the role of art therapists in developing        I created a huge Corona virus which totally
a community-based arts project with multi-                    changed our life including travels, eating out,
generational groups, and addresses the implications           workplaces and so on worldwide. I made this
of Project M.                                                 extremely hateful virus somewhat humorous
                                                              and suggested, “Let’s eat it up” so that we
Discussion of art-based findings in                           wouldn’t have to be threatened by infection,
response to Project M                                         pneumonia symptoms, and in the worst-case
This section chronicles an in-depth discussion of             scenario death. (Kumiko Matsushima, personal
art-based findings in response to Project M. Multiple         communication, 9 September 2020)
case vignettes were used to illustrate the three              Whereas, Mr See (pseudonym), an older adult in a
themes: namely, multi-generational narrative art,          nursing home, recounted the following:
materiality and nostalgia, which brought therapeutic          My brother used to bring me curry puffs during
opportunities to the participants.                            visitations but I was not able to see my brother
                                                              during Covid-19… I hope my brother can
Multi-generational narrative art                              come again and buy me the crispy curry puffs.
Kaplan (2007) postulates that the use of art to record        The artwork ‘curry puffs’ I created reminded
history, shape culture and prompt social action               me of perfect happiness. (Mr See, personal
can raise critical awareness, build community and             communication, 21 October 2020)
motivate individuals to take action around a social

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PROJECT MEMORIES: A COMMUNITY-BASED ARTS PROJECT FROM AN ART THERAPY PERSPECTIVE IN SINGAPORE - JOCAT
Community work using a narrative approach
     empowers the individuals by inviting the ‘outsider-
     witnesses’ to create a supportive audience, thus
     allowing themselves to reconnect with their personal
     and cultural identities (Chiu, 2020). During a
     physically present session with a class of multi-
     national art therapy postgraduate students, the art
     therapist-facilitators first presented a video clip and
     artworks made by older Singaporean adults and then
     prompted the students to create their art in response
     to those narratives and artworks.
         Michelle Barbara, who has a Croatian
     background, shared this:
        Having lived in Singapore for 15 years, I created
        pratas and curry puffs as my hawker memories.
        In celebration of my cultural heritage, I also
        included the Croatian food, ražnjiči, which are
        similar to Singapore’s satay – simply meat on a
        stick, but of course with different flavours. The
        art-making induced childhood memories of
        baking with my grandma, so I also made several
        medenjaci (or gingerbread cookies in English).
        My artwork, just like myself, is a mixture of
        cultural identities. (Michelle Barbara, personal
        communication, 22 October 2020)
         The above narrative shows how an international
     student used art-making (see Figure 1) to reflect
     on her cultural differences and reclaim her cultural
     identity through her own narrative that was inspired
     by the narratives from the older adults.
         Project M later facilitated a live online Zoom
     dialogue session connecting the postgraduate art
     therapy students with older adults in a nursing           Figure 1. Michelle Barbara, My cultural identity, 2020,
                                                               flour, salt, warm water, cinnamon, turmeric, wooden sticks,
     home. Although the connection was through                 glitter (inside the curry puffs, or should I say glitter puffs),
     the screen, the virtual dialoguing (see Figure 2)         dimensions variable.
     did not hinder the two generations from actively
     engaging one another. The older adults responded
     animatedly and cheerfully, expressing with a lot of
     hand gestures while sharing their stories, albeit with
     the challenges of unclear audio exchanges as well as
     hearing disabilities for some of them. The students,
     on the other end, maintained high levels of curiosity,
     attentiveness and amusement as they listened to the
     older adults.
         A student wrote in his reflection after the
     Zoom dialogue:
        I was inspired by the sharing of their hawker
        story from the seniors I met during my MA art          Figure 2. A screen shot showing the online dialoguing
                                                               session between art therapy students and older adults in a
        therapy class on Zoom… Talking about food is           nursing home.

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PROJECT MEMORIES: A COMMUNITY-BASED ARTS PROJECT FROM AN ART THERAPY PERSPECTIVE IN SINGAPORE - JOCAT
great conversation with anyone as it brings                  and utensils were provided for the art directive
   out the life and the memories of the person.                 to give participants a full tactile experience. The
   (Yau Gee Lam, personal communication,                        participants could choose to make clay-dough objects
   22 October 2020)                                             or sculptures using purely flour, water, oil and salt
    The students, as ‘outsider-witnesses’, helped to            directly with their hands.
authenticate the lived experiences of the older adults              Understanding the therapeutic qualities of
in the community (Chiu, 2020). In the work with                 different art materials enabled the art therapists to
multi-generational groups, Project M showcased                  adapt their art directives in a short time. Instead
how the art-making from various generations was                 of doing a series of in-situ art workshops, Project
interwoven with the process of sharing, telling, and            M moved to a series of online art workshops using
listening to each other’s narratives. This process              the Zoom application. Since physical bonding and
supported the two generations to experience social              human interactions were limited due to stricter safety
connection, respect, empathy and positive emotions              policies during Covid-19, the authors decided on
(Chiu, 2020). Verbal feedback from the nursing staff            homemade clay, commonly known as salt dough,
and the older adults, as well as written feedback from          using perishable ingredients like flour, salt, spices,
the students, demonstrated positive comments in                 and oil to mimic food preparation.
regard to their online interactions.                                Clay is known for its malleable and three-
                                                                dimensional qualities that allow direct shaping,
Materiality                                                     stretching and moulding to whatever forms one
Our senses are closely tied to our lived memories               desires (Buchanan, 2015). Elbrecht and Antcliff
and there are few things in life more engaging to our           (2014) highlight how touching clay can repair the
senses than food. Food is the source of our life force,         neural pathways in trauma clients, allowing them
energy and vitality. The mere smell of a beloved dish           to re-experience love, secure attachment and social
or even the distinct design of a childhood utensil              interaction. In a study by Bae and Kim (2018),
can send us back in time to a forgotten memory. The             patients living with Parkinson’s disease reported
recipes we enjoy throughout our lives and the spaces            improved moods and were more self-expressive after
where we feast as a community connect us in the                 interacting with clay. In Project M, salt dough was
present as well as to our ancestors in the past.                used in the hope of achieving a similar effect. The
    To invite evocative memories of hawker food,                participants connected as they reflected on cherished
perishable and richly sensational materials like flour,         memories shared with their loved ones, around the
salt, spices, oils, food wrappers, takeaway food boxes          hawker theme, while kneading their salt dough.

Figure 3. Screen shots of online art-making session with older adults.

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PROJECT MEMORIES: A COMMUNITY-BASED ARTS PROJECT FROM AN ART THERAPY PERSPECTIVE IN SINGAPORE - JOCAT
Similar to the clay process (Bae & Kim, 2008),         strengthened and self-esteem is boosted because of a
     the salt-dough directive helped the participants feel      deeper appreciation of ‘who I am’ in times of change
     relaxed as they recounted their social experiences         (Abakoumkin et al., 2019).
     revolving around the hawker centres. To facilitate             After a close study of the narrative accounts of all
     a quality experience, steps were demonstrated in           participants of Project M, the theme of nostalgia was
     creating the salt dough, basic kneading and sculpting      identified. The following section describes three case
     techniques for the participants to follow (see Figure      vignettes that echo sentimentality for the past in their
     3). The mirroring of action was an important               recollections.
     avenue to forge a social connection, intimacy and              Mdm Choi (pseudonym), was in her 80s, and
     empathy between the participants and the facilitators      living in a nursing home when she participated
     (Franklin, 2010; Gallese, 2009; Sholt & Gavron, 2006;      in Project M. She drew a seaside scene. The trees
     Wardi-Zonna, 2020).
         Verbal responses from the participants informed
     the facilitators about how connected they felt
     throughout the engagement process. To illustrate,
     one senior resident, Mdm Wang (pseudonym) looked
     at the final artwork and jokingly said, “It’s okay for
     whatever it is, the art-making should be for fun
     and leisure” (Mdm Wang, personal communication,
     6 November 2020). She added, “Don’t be too serious,
                                                                Figure 4. Mdm Choi, 海边景色 Seaside View, 2020, oil
     and we all should be able to let go.” After the sharing,
                                                                pastels on brown paper, 120×250mm.
     Mdm Wang could not stop giggling, and repeated a
     few times, “Whatever it is, it is.” It was evident that
     the senior resident felt connected and appreciated.        swayed in the background, looking out to the sea
     She even requested the facilitator to return so that       waves (Figure 4). Mdm Choi described herself as an
     she could continue to learn more.                          introvert, who preferred less crowded places. Hence
         The preceding section of this article explores the     the bench was her favourite hang-out. She shared
     emerging themes from the artworks and narrative            how hawker foods were affordable alternatives to
     recollections by the participants as they participated     home-cooked meals, given that more people were
     in the therapeutic opportunities. The following            working long hours and had no time to cook their
     section discusses the reflections on the authors’ roles    meals. Mdm Choi said that for social reasons, she
     as art therapists in a community-based arts project.       used to eat out with her close friends around the
                                                                Katong area (the eastern part of Singapore), at a
     Nostalgia                                                  hawker centre by the seaside. She said that the food
         Nostalgia, a sentimental longing for the past          served there was reasonable and what she valued
     (Sedikides et al., 2008; Vess et al., 2012; Wildschut      most were the moments spent with her close mates
     et al., 2006), is regarded as a universal social           (Mdm Choi, personal communication, 29 July 2020).
     emotion across cultures and ages (Hepper et al.,
     2020). When one is reminiscing about the past,
     memories comprising recollections of meaningful
     events from one’s life evoke a mixture of happiness
     and sadness (Sedikides et al., 2018). Because the
     process of reminiscence does not occur in a vacuum
     (Molinari & Reichlin, 1984 as cited in Bohlmeijer
     et al., 2007), sensory stimulations such as sounds,
     movement, dance, smells, vibrations and food, or
     events, anniversaries and places, can trigger nostalgic
     memories. As one ruminates over the valued
     relationships and social experiences, positive affect is   Figure 5. Shen Jiaqi, Reminiscing Seletar, 2020, acrylic
     generated, social connectedness to the environment is      paint on wood panel, 430×660mm.

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Shen Jiaqi, a local artist, responded to the open    have already imprinted strong memories in the
call to the public with a painting (Figure 5) based on   participants’ minds. The participants recounted
the only photo she could find of Seletar Hills food      memories of the food and the social connections,
centre (a hawker centre in the northern region of        accompanied by positive emotions such as happiness,
Singapore). The hawker centre was one that held          comfort and warmth. Their narrative accounts were
many of her childhood memories, from the weekly          congruent with the research study by Vignolles
routine of getting Saturday morning breakfast to         and Pichon (2014) in which nostalgic memories
the delicious ban mian that she loved as a kid. She      paired with foods were enjoyed at a precise time,
recollected making friends and meeting neighbours        at a common place and in the presence of others
who made a living from the food centre, and how          (mainly family or friends). In the case of Theresa,
they would excitedly tell the customers about the        even though the memory brought with it the sadness
day’s happenings. Jiaqi recounted, as a child, sitting   of her parents’ separation, she expressed her nostalgic
and watching the repetitive motions of the stall         emotion positively that now eating the dish allowed
owners as they served one customer after another,        her to remember the good times she had.
while her family chatted with the friends whom               Notably, the narratives by participants expressed
they bumped into. Jiaqi noted how these were             a reliving of positive affect, as phrases like “valuable
precious memories that could never be recreated,         were the moments”, “precious memories” and “good
as the site has been transformed into a bustling         times” were used. These nostalgic engagements
shopping mall (Shen Jiaqi, personal communication,       also invited reflections of participants’ social
29 September 2020).                                      connectedness, which fuelled their self-esteem – to
                                                         “feel good about myself ” – and heightened optimism
                                                         – “hopeful about the future” (Cheung et al., 2013).
                                                             What assisted in the process of reminiscence
                                                         was the creative engagement of the participants.
                                                         Art-making gave the participants a sense of control
                                                         in what they wanted to create. As such, the art-
                                                         making mediated between the retelling of a nostalgic
                                                         memory and a final art product for an art exhibition.
                                                         Project M provided a non-threatening platform for
                                                         participants to recall their younger selves comfortably
                                                         and connect with others over simple hawker foods. In
                                                         this nostalgic process, the individual gained a sense of
                                                         fulfilment and comfort, which contributed positively
Figure 6. Theresa, My Memories with Fishball Noodles,    to their current well-being.
2020, watercolour on paper, 228×305mm.
                                                         Reflections on the role of art
    Another response to the open call was from a         therapist in community-based work
school student, Theresa (pseudonym), who reflected       The authors are a collective of four emerging
on her personal symbolism behind a particular            art therapists with different cultural and ethnic
dish (Figure 6). She expressed, “I have liked fishball   backgrounds and expertise. The Collective’s vision
noodles since young. I used to eat it quite often with   is to reignite human connection to the material
my parents before they separated… no particular          environment and enhance a sense of well-being
reason, I hardly eat fishball noodles anymore. Now       through a hands-on approach. Through advocacy and
I have started to eat more… seeing it reminds me         experiential outreach, the Collective works toward
of the good times I had with my parents” (Theresa,       a larger goal of bringing art and its healing power
personal communication, 11 June 2020).                   to communities. It was the Collective’s intention
    Project M capitalised on the hawker concept          to pilot a community-based art project and gather
where food consumption evokes our five senses,           collaborative efforts at multiple levels. Despite many
particularly our senses of smell and taste, which        challenges due to Covid-19, the authors tapped into

                                                                                              Vol. 16, No. 1, 2021 p.61
the qualities of solidarity, resiliency and compassion    emotionally safe and engaging holding spaces in
     in the process of project planning and execution as       their clinical work to cyberspace (Ioannides, 2016).
     art therapists.                                           For example, the authors would check in with the
                                                               participants whenever there was a technical glitch,
     Quality of solidarity                                     instead of rushing through the workshop to complete
     Overall, Project M was a humbling experience for the      it in time. To ensure smooth operation, the authors
     authors. They learnt to embrace individual differences    and on-site staff kept each other posted of the
     in the clinical approaches, personalities and creative    latest on-site situation via text messages. With this
     practices of each other. The process of executing a       resiliency attribute in mind, the authors did their best
     community-based project required both hard and            to reach out and provide emotional support to the
     soft skills. Skills and qualities such as interpersonal   vulnerable groups of older adults in the community.
     communication, critical thinking, self-reflection,
     evaluation, pragmatics, work ethics, resourcefulness,     Compassion at the heart of
     innovation, project management and even financial         empowering communities
     sensitivity were essential to maintaining a successful    Drawing on a strength-based approach, celebrating
     collaboration. The authors helped each other to           every milestone invites the individual to feel
     grow with solidarity and to reflect with a heightened     validated with each of their contributions (Aroogh
     awareness of the inherent value of each author’s work     & Shahboulaghi, 2020; Levasseur et al., 2010; Yazawa
     and its relationship with the community.                  et al., 2016). The authors believe it is especially
         The project was dedicated to raising social           important to recognise every person who contributed
     responsiveness and awareness of the role of               with their presence and experiences in the project,
     art therapists in the community. The project              including the on-site staff, the participants and the
     invited collaborations from various social service        viewers who visited the exhibition, all constituting
     organisations, art institutions, schools, community       the community of the project.
     centres, artists’ communities and the local                   In particular, the older adults who were engaged
     community. These actions were strategic, bringing         from nursing homes can often feel that society at
     focus on the therapeutic opportunities in art-making      large has forgotten them. Akin to their rich accounts
     to a large audience group.                                of the hawker experiences in their younger days,
                                                               these older adults contributed to the development of
     Quality of resiliency working in times                    Singapore into a metropolitan country, and food is
     of Covid-19                                               often looked upon as a symbol of love and care. To
     Covid-19 forced the art therapists to move out of         thank the older adults for their time and investment
     their conventional practice as physical workshops         in Project M, the authors sent them their choice of
     had to transition online. Parker-Bell (1999) notes that   hawker foods.
     “no art tool including the computer suits all needs or        This section presents the reflections of the
     situations but most can be used well in a therapeutic     perspectives of art therapists in community-based
     context if the therapist knows the properties and         arts projects. Amidst the challenges complicated by
     potential they hold” (p.184). The authors drew            Covid-19, the authors responded with solidarity,
     on their knowledge of the properties of different         resiliency and compassion to bring Project M to
     media to choose materials that enhance social             fruition. The next section highlights some areas for
     connectedness and intimacy, in order to counter the       improvement in future projects.
     limitation of being physically separated in space.
         Bringing the workshop online also meant that,         Future directions
     while facilitating, the authors had to deal with          Although the authors envisioned an inclusive
     unpredictable technological faults, such as loss          platform to promote social connectedness through
     of internet connectivity or audio output, which           Project M during Covid-19, more could be looked
     could potentially result in frustration and loss of       into to improve cultural nuances between ethnic
     engagement on the participants’ end. To counteract        groups (Lee & Robbins, 1995) and accessibility for
     this, the authors applied their experience of creating    diverse abilities (National Gallery Singapore, 2021).

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For example, the inclusion of a multilingual audio          References
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                                                                Vol. 16, No. 1, 2021 p.65
Journal of Creative Arts Therapies

Volume 16 Number 1 2021

Editorial team
Chief Editor Sheridan Linnell
Co-Editors Stacey Bush, Catherine Camden Pratt, Deborah Green
Arts Editor and Journal Coordinator Vic Segedin
Copy Editors /Proofreaders Belinda Nemec, Marie Shannon, Anne Gordon

Peer review
The editorial team wishes to thank all the peer reviewers who have generously contributed their time and
expertise to this edition of JoCAT. Accepted submissions are reviewed by people well-versed and respected
in the subject or methodology of the submission. Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and creative contribution 11 were
double anonymously peer-reviewed.

Volume 16, Number 1, 2021
Published by The Journal of Creative Arts Therapies
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© The Journal of Creative Arts Therapies, 2021.
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