Imagine Me Coffs Harbour Project

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 3 individuals living with spinal cord injury in Coffs Harbour.

Di Bird
Hank Duchateau
Jim Wicks

This project took place at the Premises of Spinal Cord Injury Australia for 4 weeks in October 2014

This project was Funded by
Australia Council for the Arts Community Partnerships and supported by Spinal Cord Injury Australia.

Project Description

This project was a pilot to trial the Imagine Me project in rural regions of NSW as a way of raising awareness about spinal cord injury and helping to build a community in the arts in Ballina and Coffs Harbour for people with spinal cord injury.
People living with spinal cord injury were invited to participate in workshops where they created an artwork using digital photography and creatively explored their experiences of spinal cord injury.

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.

For participants the Imagine Me project is about building capacity and acquiring new creative skills in developing artwork for exhibition.

Testimonial Antonia 2014

This exhibition was fantastic – the stories along with the images are so moving, the intimacy revealed has really opened my eyes to the unspoken side of the disabilities and how brave all the people are for doing this. I loved the openness and honesty of the images. Thankyou for this.   

Testimonial Di 2014

I even learnt a lot about SCI – I wasn’t  aware that temperature control was an issue related to SCI. I have always had a problem but assumed it was just my problem.

Realising that everyone has a different story in regard to disability stresses the importance that everyone should be treated as individuals rather than lumped together in one disability basket.

Testimonial Sally 2014

It is so important for everyone to be validated. Every person has something of value no matter how small or seemingly insignificant to give to the world. A smile or a wink a handshake etc. art can be a great way of expressing oneself also. To give a visual voice in a beautiful poignant way for everyone to enjoy.

Sally Ross
I was a community support worker suffered severe arthritis had both knees replaced and am also an artist so have seen both sides of the coin.