LAST year I wrote two articles that highlighted the healing power of the creative arts on those who have experienced mental trauma.
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In one, I expressed how a Mid North Coast veteran was writing and recording music and how it helped him manage his post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In another, I detailed how a program in Wingham called Art and Soul was working wonders for PTSD and sufferers of depression through drawing and painting.
Be it music, painting, photography, acting, writing, ceramics or other creative arts, the benefits of art on mental health is way beyond being just a theory, nor is it new. Society has long identified the association with art and mental wellness and in recent times Defence and veterans' organisations have formally embraced this concept.
Former Australian soldier turned academic Ian Drayton details that "as many as 30 per cent of veterans returning from active service develop PTSD and mental health disorders".
Mr Drayton adds that the use of creative arts therapy shows significant promise in reducing immediate symptoms of intrusive thoughts and hyper arousal and helping to overcome avoidance and emotional numbing.
Five years ago the Australian Defence Force (ADF) embarked on a trial program know as The ADF Arts for Recovery, Resilience, Teamwork and Skills Program (ARRTS). This is an arts-based program intended to assist permanent ADF and Reservist personnel facing health and well-being challenges, or seeking to 're-set' themselves by rebuilding their confidence and resilience.
The program is delivered over a four-week residential period based in Canberra and comprises three artistic streams: visual arts; music and rhythm; and creative writing. The program had been put on hold during 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions however the 'thinking outside the box' approach to healing their workforce seems to be producing positive results.
Unfortunately the ARRTS program is not open to those in the veterans community who have left the ADF, however, thanks to the Australian War Memorial (AWM) there is a forum where ex-service personnel can ply their creative ability.
The AWM hosts The Napier Waller Art Prize, a competition open to all current and former service personnel in the ADF. The AWM details that 'The prize encourages artistic excellence, promotes the transformative power of creativity, and raises awareness of the experiences and talent of service personnel'.
Finalists will have their work displayed on the Australian War Memorial's website where the general public can vote for the People's Choice award worth $5000 to the winner. The winning work overall is accessioned into the Australian War Memorial collection, with the winning artist receiving a $10,000 cash prize and a two-week, all expenses paid residency with the Art Section at the Australian War Memorial.
The Napier Waller Art Prize was initiated in 2018 and is named after Mervyn Napier Waller who enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in 1915. In 1917 he was wounded in the right arm at Bullecourt resulting in the loss of this arm.
While convalescing he learned to write and draw with his left hand and is known to have said, "an artist draws with his head, not his hands". It is Waller's magnificently designed mosaics and stained glass we see at the AWM's Hall of Memory.
Entries for the The Napier Waller Art Prize close June 7 and like all competitions, there are a range of terms and conditions. I recommend that anyone in the veterans community who has been dabbling in the arts to go to this link www.awm.gov.au/Napier-Waller-Art-Prize-hub/2020-Napier-Waller-Art-Prize and look at entries from the past two years.
You may find that you are in with a chance and even if you don't make the finalists, just producing the work will do you good.
