| abstract |
This study explores the role of visual arts in hurricane recovery and the contribution of the arts to the health and well-being of hurricane-impacted people. This work seeks to develop a framework for recovery that meets the long-term recovery needs of post-hurricane communities through multidisciplinary and creative ways, addressing the gap in recovery models which focus on singular hurricanes and experiences, acknowledging the effects of compounding crises and increasing severity of weather events. This framework seeks to center the voices of hurricane-impacted people and includes their relational connections to both the natural world and social systems which make up their communities.
As research in arts in health grows, it is crucial to understand the current landscape of arts in order to determine how we can best serve hurricane-impacted communities. This work examines the current landscape of post-hurricane arts engagement including personal, professional, social, and virtual spaces and explores what details of existing artworks can tell us about the needs of the community. A mixed method qualitative study was completed on 30 pieces of post-hurricane art, using both images of art and artists statement. Results found that public art has diverse themes, including phenomenological themes such as Loss, Processing and Resilience, and narrative themes such as Infrastructure, Economy, Ecology and Landscape, Resistance and Protest, and Culture-Shaping.
This work also asks how the visual arts contribute to meaning-making and the creation of narratives post-disaster by looking through the lens of a specific community. A second qualitative study was conducted with ten residents of the NWFL and Coastal AL region regarding their connection to community identity and perception to arts engagement within their area. Results discovered include a positive perception of post-hurricane arts and a willingness to engage in arts activities in personal, social, virtual and professional ways. Participants were able to identify examples of post-hurricane art within their communities and all participants indicated they feel the arts were valuable and meaningful for hurricane recovery.
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