Arts as a vehicle for community building and post-disaster development
Author(s):
Ephrat Huss
Roni Kaufman
Amos Avgar
Eitan Shuker
Publication Year:
2016
Type:
journal article
Journal/Book Title
Disasters
Publisher
Editor(s):
Pages:
284-303
Volume:
40
Issue:
2
Abstract:
Use of the arts in international aid is common in an ad hoc form, but it has not been systematically theorised or evaluated. The arts have the potential to be a culturally contextualised and sustainable intervention for adults and children in the aftermath of war or disaster. On the micro level, the arts are a method to enable the retrieval and reprocessing of traumatic memories that are often encoded in images rather than in words. On a macro level, they can help to reconstruct a group narrative of a disaster as well as mobilise people back into control of their lives. This paper researches a long-term project using arts in Sri Lanka following the civil war and tsunami. A central finding is the need to understand arts within their cultural context, and their usefulness in strengthening the voices and problem-solving capacities of the victims of the disaster.
Citation (Chicago Author-Date):
Huss, Ephrat, Roni Kaufman, Amos Avgar, and Eitan Shuker. 2016. “Arts as a Vehicle for Community Building and Post-Disaster Development.” Disasters 40 (2): 284–303. https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12143.