The 2022 Maribyrnong River floods are something most inner-west residents would prefer to forget, but a group of young people have turned their recollections of the disaster into art as part of their recovery process.
That artwork is now on display at Phoenix Youth Centre in Footscray as part of the Maribyrnong Floods+ Me exhibition.
He exhibition was officially launched on the evening of Friday, May 19 by Maribyrnong mayor Pradeep Tiwari, with about about 40 people in attendance including artists, supporters, community members and organisers of the project.
The Maribyrnong Floods + Me project has been supported by the Maribyrnong Council Flood Recovery Team to help understand young people’s experiences of the October 2022 floods which inundated more than 500 households in the inner west.
An adjunct to a similar project that took place in northern NSW following flood disasters in the Lismore-Northern Rivers region, Maribyrnong Floods + Me began in October last year with Maribyrnong council and Victoria University among its supporters.
The project involved university researchers collaborating with young people impacted by the floods and their families through arts-based storytelling.
The impacts on children and young people are little understood in disaster recovery, but creative activities have been identified as strategies for supporting and strengthening affected communities.
At the very least, Maribyrnong Floods + Me has produced some startling artworks which will be on display at the Phoenix Youth Centre during business hours until the end of June.
The youth centre is located at 72 Buckley Street, Footscray.
Contact: phoenix@maribyrnong.vic.gov.au
