Objects for Everyday Resilience Exhibition opening

Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies

What got you through lockdown? 
Join us to open this exhibition of things that helped our participants endure long COVID-19 lockdowns

Deakin Downtown

Objects for Everyday Resilience

What got you through lockdown? An exhibition of things that helped Australians endure long COVID-19 lockdowns, along with masterclasses and workshops

The pandemic has necessitated greater appreciation of the power of things. The spread of the novel coronavirus’ invisible variants has permanently altered the conditions and perceptions of human life on the planet, forcing us to dwell on the vitality intrinsic to materiality, and renewing awareness of human lives as taking place within a broader ecology of life forms. The prevalence of wild animals in cities, for example, suggested the potential to de-centre humanity's planetary position. Initially viewed by many as an opportunity to slow down, this pandemic induced immobility appeared to prompt a kind of ‘degrowth’ as industries the world over paused operation and pollution levels plummeted. In this project, we are studying the relationships between material resources and people in conditions of adversity. In particular, we are focussing on the things that have supported the mental and physical health of different sections of the community during the pandemic. We hope to enhance and extend emerging understandings of multisystemic resilience (Ungar 2020), and to support recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.The pandemic has highlighted, in simple terms, the stark divide between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’. People’s pre-existing physical conditions and material resources (or lack of them), impact their ability to protect themselves from the virus. Income, living circumstances and access to digital (and other) resources, affected people’s ability to get up-to-date information about the virus, physically isolate and work from home.Marginalised and vulnerable communities have had to develop coping strategies or acts of resilience for a long time. However, COVID-19 lockdowns intensified the conditions under which resilience was built and used. This is not only true for those marginalised communities but for people from all walks of life. In response to the pandemic context, ‘Objects for Everyday Resilience’ seeks to facilitate greater openness to objects’ vitality in order to produce new encounters that further understandings of multisystemic resilience. Such insights are critically tied to human mental health and physical wellbeing and will enable the development of shared resources that support such resilience during the period of recovery from the pandemic and beyond.The objects collected for this project tell stories about how people from all walks of life sustained them during extended lockdowns. Listen and read their stories about resilience during lockdown, and feel free to contribute your own.

Our {communityGuidelinesLink} describe the sort of content we prohibit on Eventbrite. If you suspect an event may be in violation, you can report it to us so we can investigate.

To report other categories of prohibited or illegal content, submit {link}