Palliative Care for the Planet?

Art" Nature" Wellbeing is a diverse collection of art created by staff and students in the Master of Art Therapy at the University of Western Sydney (UWS) examining the interdependence of human and ecological systems, and the relationship between creativity, wellbeing and the natural world. The exhibition consists of works from various disciplines, including painting, drawing, textiles, sculpture, installation, film and digital media" in addition to live performance pieces on opening night. A collaborative arts-based enquiry into the theme of 'palliative care for the planet'' was initiated by Jean Rumbold following the Arts and Health Conference at Latrobe University in October 2013. As three visitors to and one indigenous inhabitant of this land, Rumbold, Horsfall, Latham and Linnell write and create together and apart, blending the 'I' and the 'we', in ways that are personal, lateral and yet collective. They experiment with the tensions and connections between different art materials and between feminist, new materialist, ecological and indigenous perspectives, in an attempt to open up a space in which to begin to make sense of extremity. The artworks, stories and poems they have produced so far on the theme of 'palliative care for the planet' are central to this proposal. These works are explored by the collaborating artists in a recent co-authored research paper but have not previously been exhibited.