Creative Soups for the Soul: Stories of Community Recovery in Talca, Chile, After the 2010 Earthquake

Abstract

This study, conducted in Talca, Chile, a year and a half after a massive natural disaster, focused on creative thinking and art production as manifestations of resilience. Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants through community leaders and programs. Ten survivors whose houses were damaged or destroyed during the 2010 earthquake were willing to participate in semi-structured interviews that included verbal narratives and an art response. Systematic analysis illuminated conscious and latent psychological content. Three overarching themes were identified as central to survivors' recovery process and were then contrasted with data from New Orleans after hurricane Katrina, exploring universality and contextual factors in post disasters' creativity and resilience. Specifically, in Talca, the creation of craft for sale, instead of art making for emotional expression in New Orleans, was observed; idealism and future-oriented thinking were heightened in Talca, while humor and spirituality seemed more pronounced in New Orleans; and connections to natural surroundings in Talca were juxtaposed with New Orleans' residents' strong neighborhood affiliations and cultural festivities.Keywords: resilience, creativity, disaster, Chile, New Orleans Este estudio, desarrollado en Talca, Chile, un año y medio después de un desastre natural masivo, se centró en el pensamiento creativo y la producción artística, como manifestaciones de resiliencia. Se usó un muestreo intencional para reclutar a los participantes, a través de programas y líderes comunitarios. Diez sobrevivientes cuyas casas fueron destruidas o dañadas durante el terremoto de 2010 accedieron a participar en entrevistas semi estructuradas, las que incluyeron narrativas verbales y una respuesta artística. Un análisis sistemático iluminó los contenidos psicológicos, tanto conscientes como latentes. Tres temas principales fueron identificados como centrales en el proceso de recuperación de los sobrevivientes y fueron luego contrastados con datos obtenidos en New Orleans posterior al huracán Katrina, explorando universalidad y factores contextuales en la creatividad y resiliencia post desastre. En concreto, en Talca se observó la creación artística para la venta en lugar de la creación artística para la expresión emocional observada en New Orleans; el idealismo y pensamiento orientado en el futuro se acentuó en Talca, mientras que en New Orleans pareció pronunciarse más el humor y la espiritualidad; y las conexiones con el entorno natural en Talca se yuxtaponen con fuertes afiliaciones vecinales y festividades culturales en los residentes de New Orleans.Palabras clave: resiliencia, creatividad, desastre, Chile, New Orleans Natural disasters-earthquakes, tornados, tsunamis, wild fires-are regular occurrences in many parts of the world, yet bring unimaginable challenges and irregular experiences to the daily lives of millions who are recovering from these events. How people react and what is effective in recovering from disasters seems to vary depending on a cultur...

Representing Recovery: How the Construction and Contestation of Needs and Priorities Can Shape Long-term Outcomes for Disaster-affected People

“…While Mohr was careful not to assert a cause-effect relationship between the arts and post-traumatic healing, she found that her respondents drew on the arts to attribute meaning to their traumatic experiences. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms by which arts interventions can shape recovery processes and support post-disaster wellbeing in different socio-cultural contexts (Bender et al, 2015).…”

“…While Mohr was careful not to assert a cause-effect relationship between the arts and post-traumatic healing, she found that her respondents drew on the arts to attribute meaning to their traumatic experiences. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms by which arts interventions can shape recovery processes and support post-disaster wellbeing in different socio-cultural contexts (Bender et al, 2015). In comparing arts interventions and recovery outcomes in Talca, Chile (after the 2010 earthquake) and New Orleans (after the 2005 Hurricane Katrina), Bender et al (2015, p. 11) found ‘essential differences’ in community solutions and the ways in which the content of artworks ‘linked to cultural and contextual narratives’.…”

“…Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms by which arts interventions can shape recovery processes and support post-disaster wellbeing in different socio-cultural contexts (Bender et al, 2015). In comparing arts interventions and recovery outcomes in Talca, Chile (after the 2010 earthquake) and New Orleans (after the 2005 Hurricane Katrina), Bender et al (2015, p. 11) found ‘essential differences’ in community solutions and the ways in which the content of artworks ‘linked to cultural and contextual narratives’. For example, while New Orleans residents approached art-making as a means of personal self-expression and of depicting individual attributes related to their survival, in Talca participants preferred to collaborate in their art-making and depict their survival within the context of a shared journey in a collective environment.…”