Local champions, each with their own unique story of resilience, recently had the opportunity to be the first to hold the completed publication of their collective story telling of their lived experiences.
‘Voice of Resilience’ shares four inspiring and vulnerable life stories through visual storytelling in a comic book style, gifted to the community by brave and courageous locals of the Gladstone Region.
Some of the locals joined project partners, local photographer and graphic artist to celebrate the release of the publication.
At first glance, storyteller Betty expressed her emotions about the final publication and what it means for her story.
“Oh it’s lovely. I have a big family of six children, 38 grandchildren and over 40 great-grandchildren. This is the first time my family will hear about a lot of my story because I haven’t talked about things that happened in my life,” said Betty.
Mother and Daughter, Sharon and Katrina were excited to see the final comic book and shared how the storytelling experience impacted their lives.
“It is amazing to see the other stories alongside ours. I am hoping our story will encourage community not to hide away, to realize there are others out there going through what I went through when I was growing up and the impact it had on my life,” Sharon explained.
“The process of telling our story was amazing, allowing Katrina to talk about what she has achieved, and the confidence been brought out in her. This process has made me a lot stronger, and I am not frightened of what some may think; I am not frightened anymore.”
Storytellers were invited through GRT’s ongoing community engagement to ensure that community voice and lived experience informs wellbeing improvements for our region.
Local photographic artist, William Debois and visual consultant, Jenny Fournier, captured and curated these intimate and vulnerable stories into the photo novella (comic book) format, using the words of the storytellers.
“Traditional forms of telling stories, like magazine articles, usually have a lot of text, maybe an interview and a few photographs. However, there are benefits to having a format that surprises people and draws them in because it looks different”.
“It is great to finally see and hold the publication. It feels really good to have something I can read like the comic books I used to read as a kid. You need to see the layout and feel the paper to see how things really connect compared to online comic books, William said”.
“I hope it will increase the awareness that there is hardship in the Gladstone Region, regardless of how affluent our region is, but that there is also resilience and hope in the stories that have been shared. Some people face these journeys from birth; it’s about difficult paths and the challenges life throws at you”.
This publication has been a collaborative effort, realised through a partnership with the Gladstone Regional Council (GRC) and Arts Queensland’s Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF).
Our community is encouraged to share feedback through the QR code on the back cover of the publication.
The ‘Voice of Resilience’ is a free community comic book and can be collected from the following locations or by contacting GRT.
‘Voice of Resilience’ Publication Locations
Gladstone Library
Boyne Island Library
Calliope Library
Agnes Water Library
For further information or if your organisation would like to share the ‘Voice of Resilience’ publication by becoming a stockist, please contact GRT:
P: 07 4970 7382
Voice of Resilience online publication can also be accessed through the GRT Resources page.