🎉Devika x Sally Fitzgibbons: VR Art Therapy Launch 🎉

On Friday, July 12, 2024, Devika hosted a memorable event with over 80 attendees to celebrate the launch of the Sally Fitzgibbons Art Therapy Experience. The day was a huge success, with every seat filled by disability and healthcare service providers, as well as local businesses from the Illawarra and Sydney areas. The atmosphere was electric and filled with positive emotions – it was truly a feel-good day and unlike any other event we’ve hosted.

🙌 Event Purpose & Introduction

The event kicked off with a warm welcome by Ken Kencevski, Founder and Managing Director of Devika, and our guest of honor, Former World #1 Surfer Sally Fitzgibbons. Sally shared her excitement for the day’s launch, recounting her deep connection to the ocean, her parents, and the Illawarra area, especially Little Beach in Gerroa where she grew up. These grounding memories have been her anchor in the competitive world of surfing, and they have inspired her mission to share the ocean’s therapeutic benefits with everyone, regardless of their physical ability to proximity the beach. Sally also had some fun with MC Toby Dawson and the crowd, sharing surfing lingo like “Stoked,” “Sick,” and “Shakkas” 🤙.

Ken spoke about Devika’s ethos of using technology to positively impact people and the planet, pushing boundaries in the name of prosperity. He explained how this philosophy led to the collaboration with Sally through VR, resulting in the Sally Fitzgibbons Art Therapy Experience.

🎨 Art Competition

One of the event’s highlights was the VR Art Competition. While the VR experience is designed to relax and minimize anxiety, we added a competitive twist! Attendees had 3 minutes each to create a winning artwork in the VR environment, judged by Sally herself.

✏️ Dr Caroline Mills’ Research

Dr. Caroline Mills then presented the findings of her three research papers, which explore the effectiveness of VR as a means of anxiety remediation in adults with disabilities. Her findings, which showed significant improvements in anxiety through this technology, were truly enlightening and can be explored further here.

🦿Panel Presentation

Joining Sally Fitzgibbons and Dr. Caroline Mills was another special guest, Paralympian and Lifeline Ambassador, Sarah Walsh. The panel shared their gratitude for their various inspirations that have led to their respective professions, and the desire to now give back to the community.

Sarah shared details about her longstanding journey with the Disabled Surfers Association, and how the opportunity provided by this organization, despite her disability, inspired her to push her own boundaries and eventually become a paralympian. Sarah also shared some memories from competing as a long jumper at the Tokyo Paralympics, where she jumped into volcanic ash sand and was scrubbing it off for weeks! She’s heard the sand in Paris is meant to be quite nice – we have our fingers crossed for her! 🤞😆

🫴 Donation to the Disabled Surfers Association (DSA)

In a heartwarming conclusion to the day, Ken Kencevski presented a donation of two VR headsets to the Disabled Surfers Association (DSA) South Coast. A few years ago, DSA had expressed interest in utilizing Devika’s VR technology among participants, but it was out of their budget. Now, thanks to this collaboration, we’ve been able to provide this donation along with the Sally Fitzgibbons Art Therapy Experience.

Event Summary

The launch event for the Sally Fitzgibbons Art Therapy Experience was more than just a celebration; it was a testament to the power of collaboration, innovation, and community. We are excited to see how this technology will benefit DSA’s participants and the broader community in the years to come.

Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to making this day a success. We look forward to continuing our journey of making a positive impact through technology.

To purchase and learn more about Sally’s VR experience, head to Devika’s VR brand, Evenness.

For any questions, contact us!