Episode 11: Sara Wright - Curiosity and the Artistry of Tending Grief: On the loss of her brother, listening and the resonance of witness

griefdyingpalliative carecancersibling lossfamily death
Written By Bianca Welsh

Sara shares the story of her younger brother Tommy's death from testicularcancer at 23, the exhibition Involuntary she created in its aftermath, her  years as a hospice volunteer, her artist residency in the emergency  department, and — more recently — grief following the death of her father.  The conversation moves through death literacy, the power of witnessing,  ecological grief, and how art can hold space for the hardest parts of being human.

Following the interview, psychologist Emma Keen joins Bianca to unpack  the conversation — covering vulnerability, the importance of language  around death and dying, and why grief needs to be witnessed.

Content note: this episode discusses hospice care, palliative care, death  and dying. Support resources are listed below.

About Sara: Sara is a community artist, performer, and curator based in  Lutruwita, Tasmania. Her work brings people together through creative 

experiences that are playful, responsive, and deeply human, often  unfolding in places you might not expect from hospitals and schools to  forests and public space. She creates environments where people of all  ages and backgrounds can express themselves, working closely with  communities, including young people, health workers, and artists. Her  projects have spanned the Royal Hobart Hospital Emergency Department, Mona's 24 Karat Gardens and Collaborations across Tasmania's cultural  and community sector. Alongside this, Sarah's practice is shaped by a  deep relationship with the more than human world. She explores  connection, ecological grief, and the intelligence of forests. Inviting people into experiences that hold both creativity and care. At the heart of her workis listening, making space for connection, imagination, and new ways of  being together. Sara's website and projects: www.sarawright.space. Her  exhibition in dedication of her brother: www.sarawright.space/involuntary

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In Episode 11 Emma Keen joins Bianca to discuss the key takeaways from each person’s experience and help all of us understand from a therapists perspective how and why things work.

Emma Keen is a psychologist with over sixteen years' experience across mental health and performance psychology, supporting adults with loss, trauma, anxiety and the demands of performance.

She is particularly passionate about working in the burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma space to assist those in high-impact professions to sustain career longevity and wellbeing. She also works in sport and performance psychology with athletes, teams and multi-passionate high performers, and delivers keynotes, workshops and in-house training across both areas.

She is also an EMDR accredited consultant with EMDRAA (EMDR Association Australia) and holds additional qualifications in social work and nutrition, as well as writing books for children in her spare time.

Music Credit: “Denali” by Bryant Lowry. Written by Bryant Richard Lowry (BMI). Published by Boss Soundstripe Productions (BMI). Licensed via Soundstripe Inc.
Cover Image: Eden Wilday

CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome and Acknowledgement
00:54 Why Talk About Grief
02:23 Meet Sara Wright
03:33 Tommy’s Death Story
06:13 Workaholism to Healing
07:43 Hospice Volunteering Lessons
08:10 Involuntary Exhibition Catharsis
09:55 Community Art and Deathbeds Project
12:24 Death Literacy and Language
15:20 Dad’s Dying and Unspoken Plans
18:41 Grieving Consciously
21:38 Inside the Involuntary Artworks
25:09 End-of-Life Interviews Wisdom
29:27 Hospital Artist in Residence
34:33 Biophilia and Healing Spaces
37:18 Doctors Drawing Grief
39:57 Breaking Bad News Better
41:46 American Hospital Goodbye
43:55 Rituals and Men’s Grief
45:27 Youth Workshops on Death
47:26 Teaching Kids Death Literacy
49:05 Kids Talk About Death
50:30 Grief Across Distance
51:19 Dad’s Final Message
53:59 Rituals and Funerals Matter
55:39 Living Grief Project
57:37 Ecological Grief and Forests
01:03:48 Witnessing and Co-Regulation
01:07:11 Advice to Past Self
01:10:02 Psychologist Debrief Begins
01:13:34 Vulnerability and Trusting Gut
01:16:57 Language Shapes Grief
01:23:55 Why Grief Must Be Witnessed
01:27:57 Curiosity as a Grief Tool
01:31:53 Closing Dedication and Disclaimer

Bianca Welsh
Next

Episode 10: Peter Westcoast - Talking About Talking About Dying; With a Palliative Care Nurse