Creative Community Care 2025: Tune In, Create Out

By Riya Gupta

Events and Programs Executive, Future Forte | La Trobe Alum | Lover of snacks and oddly specific playlists

👋 Hello!

I currently work as the Events and Programs Executive in the international student space with Future Forte. I’m also a La Trobe University alum and recently had the chance to attend the Creative Community Care 2025 series in collaboration with Shapes and Sounds, Future Forte and La Trobe University.

What follows are my thoughts and reflections from the program through the eyes of a community builder who believes that mental health support doesn’t have to be boring, clinical, or colourless. This series is made for international students from Asia aged 18–25, by folks who get it. Facilitated by registered art and music therapists, each session invites participants to tune into their emotions through music and art in a safe, welcoming space.

I’ll be sharing weekly highlights from the sessions that I attend, which blend music therapy, art-based reflection, and deep chats about emotional wellbeing with snacks and soft playlists. This didn’t feel like just another wellness workshop.

WEEK #1

Held on Tuesday evenings at La Trobe’s City Campus, led by Tanya Setyawan (she/her), a warm and thoughtful registered Music Therapist and proud Chinese-Indonesian Australian.Tanya grew up in Jakarta and now brings her creativity and passion to creative health spaces across Australia. The evening began with gentle introductions and a “feelings check-in”—a reflective moment for attendees to consider how they were feeling emotionally before diving into the music. We did a proper Feelings Check using a map to locate ourselves emotionally before the music hit. 

Tanya then guided the group through a shared listening experience, three songs, endless feels:

“Birds of a Feather” – Billie Eilish

“What Makes You Beautiful” – One Direction

“Dancing in the Moonlight” – Toploader

Each song brought up different emotions, and what was surprising was seeing my own emotional state shifting after each one. It was honestly so interesting to notice those subtle internal changes in real time. 

The team were just really nice people, grounded, funny, and refreshingly real. Tanya encouraged us to share what came up for us, and the group reflections added so much depth to the experience. 

It is fascinating to see how different music styles, tempos, and lyrics could intentionally guide us from one emotional state to another. We worked together to create a group playlist that reflected how we were all feeling—and more importantly, how we wanted to feel by the end of the night. We chose two points on an emotional spectrum, like moving from “tired” to “energised” or “anxious” to “calm,” and then curated songs that could help someone travel through that shift. There’s something empowering about realising that your music choices can actively support your mental health, instead of just filling the silence.

All in all, it was informative, unexpectedly fun, and a lovely reminder of how powerful community care can be when it’s done through creativity and shared experience.

Can’t wait for the next session!

DISCLAIMER

While these sessions explore mental health, they’re not a substitute for therapy if you're in crisis. The community care sessions are designed for you to take a break and participate in community care that doesn’t feel like work.

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💡Are you interested in joining our next round of Creative Community Care? We're running a one-off session on September 16th 2025 and you can find all the details, and register HERE!