IMAGINE ME ROYAL REHAB 2015

The Imagine Me project is an innovative creative awareness-raising project for people who are living with a spinal cord injury.

The Imagine Me pilot project was a collaboration between lead artist Sue Murray and a group of 7 individuals living with spinal cord injury. 

Amanda Kaest
Alan Aldrich
Steve McCormack
Michelle Jeffrey
Glenn Kesbah
Dimity McGregor
Erin Gregg

This project took place at the Premises of Royal Rehab in the Recreational Therapy Community centre for 6 weeks in February and March 2015

This project was Funded by
Royal Rehab and Slater and Gordon Community Fund

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

With this project, Imagine Me continues our mission of empowering people with spinal cord injury living across Australia, to explore their imagination in a creative process of skill-building photography workshops. The aim is to foster greater understanding towards people living with social disadvantage, and open up new creative opportunities by building skills and fostering community engagement.

Peer support is an important part of this process where people who sustained an injury sometime ago are working alongside others more recently injured. Offering support to each other, while they work together sharing creative ideas and experiences. Peer support is a valuable part of community health and well-being and this workshop process encourages people to broaden and build new social networks

One of the great outcomes from this workshop the idea of a camera club, so everyone can be encouraged to continue to practising photography, learn techniques and tips from each other and socialise at the same time.  Alan is the expert in camera clubs and he has generously offered to take charge of the club.
We are planning to combine outings with a walk planned by Glenn who has a fabulous web site Sydney Wheelchair Walks

The long-term vision for the Imagine Me project is to work with people with spinal cord injury across Australia, linking each small community group into a network where individual stories can be heard and shared, offering support to others with spinal cord injury living across Australia.

Testimonial — Simon 2015

Imagine Me allowed me to enjoyably release suppressed internal feelings artistically, creatively, socially and ultimately therapeutically through my portrait.
Workshop participation provides encouragement, peer support and outcomes that assist in raising awareness of our disability.

Testimonial — Alan 2015

 As a disabled person who took part in one of Sue's workshops I would like to say how beneficial it was. The way Sue took us through the process of completing our portrait was so beneficial in many ways. I watched in awe as a very paralysed wheelchair bound girl took her first photo using a camera phone controlled by her using a mouth stick. It was a very special moment for her signalled by the look of extreme jubilation that followed.
Thank you so much Sue.

Testimonial — Brett 2015

 I suffered a spinal cord injury …. After suffering this type of injury your world is tipped upside down and your hopes and dreams seem lost forever. Projects like the Imagine Me workshop are an extremely important part both the recovery process and the wellbeing of everyone involved. They bring back hope, social connection and an overall feeling of worth. To me, my picture represents a deflated body being lifted from despair to a new life of hope and opportunity