Chloe Watfern
Chloe Watfern is a Scientia PhD scholar at UNSW Art & Design and The Black Dog Institute. With an academic background in art history and psychology, her interdisciplinary research spans the social sciences and the arts. Her PhD dissertation is exploring neurodiversity and art in supported studio organisations.
Chloe also works as a research associate for the Sydney Partnership for Health, Education, Research and Enterprise (SPHERE) Knowledge Translation Strategic Platform.
Sessions
We consider how artists explore complex health issues in a large-scale, collaborative art installation. The presentation introduces - The HIVE - an arts-based knowledge translation (ABKT) initiative through which artists collaborated with researchers, service providers, health consumers, and carers affiliated with a major translational health research centre in Australia. Specifically, we present a case study that draws on artist statements and visual documentation to evoke the different facets of the initiative. The eight projects encompassed by The HIVE were diverse. Artistic media included textiles, sculpture, poetry, and photography. Health issues ranged from palliative care to child healthcare. The HIVE was not simply an installation, but a nucleus that fostered collaboration through the design and development of creative artworks. In emphasising empathy and non-verbal communication, The HIVE at once translated and expanded health(care) research and practice.