Devora Neumark, PhD

My work sits at the intersection of neuroaesthetics, forced migration, climate justice, policy development, and contemplative practice. I explore how beauty functions not as ornament but as essential infrastructure for human flourishing, particularly in contexts of displacement and crisis.

This inquiry began with what I observed repeatedly: people who have lost everything still insist on beauty. They flee war, persecution, and natural disasters, yet in refugee camps, temporary shelters, and contexts of profound uncertainty, individuals and communities invest precious time and scarce materials to plant flowers, paint patterns, and arrange colours. These acts are often dismissed as peripheral, even frivolous. But what if they tell us something fundamental about what humans need to survive and thrive?

My PhD research, Radical Beauty for Troubled Times, explored how trauma from forced displacement intersects with aesthetics in the built environment and the intentional beautification of home. At the centre of this work: What role does material culture play in resettlement? How can the study of day-to-day acts of house-beautification expand our understanding of making home anew in a time of increasing domicide and mounting displacement?

This work draws upon Arthur Danto's "Third Realm beauty," which implicates deliberative attention to, and appreciation and manipulation of material effects. As I argue in "Drawn to Beauty" (Housing, Theory and Society), beautification constitutes the stuff of everyday life: ordering a home, sweeping a floor, placing an object. For the forcibly displaced, making one's surroundings physically attractive and emotionally satisfying exceeds mere surface adornment. An engagement with everyday aesthetics after displacement indicates and expresses a readiness to make home anew.

My research revealed how beauty-making enables what philosopher Susan Brison identifies as essential for healing: the narrative shift from "what has been done to me" to "what I have done and can do." Through collaborative work with Stephanie Acker, I have documented how families in Pakistan painted vibrant patterns inspired by traditional Sindhi ralli quilts on rebuilt homes. They transmitted what literary scholar Marianne Hirsch calls "postmemory," but critically, they transmitted resilience, creativity, and pride alongside trauma.

As an artist, I develop two interconnected bodies of work. One focuses on wellness and joy cultivation as radical practice, explored for example in "The Weight of Wellness" (Tarka Journal vol 6). The other addresses environmental trauma through participatory performance art, including for example, Letters to the Ice. For this project, I collaborated with Inuksuk High School students in Iqaluit, Nunavut. We integrated Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (cultural values) as students wrote letters to disappearing ice, creating audio-video capsules expressing grief, hope, and resolve.

My seven years in the Eastern Canadian Arctic deepened my understanding of how built environment aesthetics impact wellbeing in extreme conditions. My background spans roles as Senior Strategic Policy Analyst with the Canadian Government. I am certified as a Climate Change Adaptation Practitioner (Yale) and hold a Public Safety Masters Diploma in Emergency Management (Wilfrid Laurier).

What draws me to the neuroarts community is connecting forced migration and climate justice work with neuroscience research. I want to explore how neuroaesthetics can strengthen arguments for policy changes in humanitarian response and emergency management. Communities experiencing displacement already demonstrate what neuroscience confirms. They are the experts. My work amplifies their knowledge and advocates for beauty as the survival technology it truly is.