Space 22 (ATOM Study Guide)

Set amidst Australia’s worsening mental health crisis, where those seeking help often face months waiting for therapy and other support, Space 22 is a six-part documentary series which considers an alternative prescription to help stave off this epidemic: art.

Hosted by acclaimed performer and singer Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Space 22 follows seven strangers, each with their own lived experience of mental ill health, as they take part in an ambitious experiment to test if the simple act of participating in art can help heal invisible wounds.

Supported by psychotherapist Noula Diamantopoulos, many in the group will be experiencing visual and performing arts for the first time. The hope is that being creative together will have a positive impact on their health and wellbeing.

Using social research tools to track what happens to our brains and emotions when we make art, leading experts help us understand why one genre might connect more than another and share what science reveals about the impact of colours, textures and sensory experiences on our mental health.

As the program unfolds, the group begin to share life experiences, make connections and gain new insight into their own difficulties.

Viewers witness a process of transformation that puts participants in touch with their own wisdom, opening the door for epiphanies and new discoveries about themselves.

Art on prescription has been successful in other countries around the world – could it work here in Australia? This series champions growing calls for art as a social prescription to become an integral part of our health care system. An open invitation for every Australian to dip into this phenomenal therapeutic aid … pick up a brush, sharpen a pencil, power up the potting wheel … because amazing things happen when creativity takes hold.

Curriculum Links:

Space 22 will have interest and relevance for mid secondary, senior secondary and tertiary students. The series presents an opportunity to engage with the highly relevant community issue of mental health. It can serve as a stimulus to:

• •Discuss experiences of people living with mental health challenges.
• •Consider the value of creativity as a strategy to maintain personal and community wellbeing.
• •Address stigma associated with mental health and trauma.
• •Discuss how engagement with the arts is a highly personal journey, unique to each individual.

The series is particularly relevant to Personal, Social and Community Health strand of the Health and Physical Education curriculum.

Space 22 would also serve as a useful supplementary text to the study of the following learning areas:

• The Arts (e.g. exploring meaning, personal responses and social contexts of music, visual and other arts)
• Psychology (e.g. how internal and external factors influence human thoughts and emotions)
• Community Services and Health (e.g. the nature of social and community support for people living with mental health challenges)
• English (e.g. how texts represent the world and human experience)
• Media Studies (e.g. how techniques, codes and conventions are used to create and challenge representations)

The documentary provides opportunities to reflect on human creativity and endeavour, diversity and connectedness, making it a useful resource to address the Australian Curriculum General Capabilities of Personal and Social Capability, and Critical and Creative Thinking.