The value of art making as a mechanism towards support among caregivers on the East Rand in South Africa - a model of dialogical and relational aesthetics.

Abstract

In this research project I examine art making as a supportive intervention towards creating a safe environment for the caregivers in order for them to identify with the social worlds in which they inhabit. I have focused on the role of art making within a community of volunteer caregivers on the East Rand in Johannesburg. The dual tenets of dialogical and relational aesthetics are acknowledged in the elaboration of concepts to establish wider contexts. Whilst art therapy modalities and literature have been used, this research project does not embrace the scope of art therapy as a discipline. At times I have used lexis from art therapy to draw on certain terms. My subject position as an artist and facilitator in this project has given me the agency for the discourse of dialogue to take place. The inquiry for this research dissertation is concerned with whether the participants in the project were able to achieve some amelioration from their circumstances through the relational exchange so that art as the mediator for conversational exchange is seen to facilitate constructive models for engagement. My contention is that these conditions have allowed the caregivers to achieve this outcome.