Art Therapy Force

During April, I had the privilege of mentoring on the Art Therapy Force project, joining a unique interdisciplinary team that explore diverse applications of art therapy. In the “Kids Art Retreat”, we worked directly with 45 children aged 10-17 from communities near the front line in Ukraine.
 
This collaboration with Art Therapy Force and my participation in the Kids Art Retreat took place thanks to support from Vidnova program. More info: https://vidnova.org/
 
For it, I offered a series of situated artistic methods as shared multisensorial activities. The core was to weave bonds as forms of (re)connecting to “natural (Nature) belonging” with especial attention to water bodies on us and around us. This art therapy method has its pilars on the intersections between ecology, decolonial perspectives and trauma informed practices. Activities took place outdoors integrating walking, sensing and experimenting from individual to collaborative multidisciplinary spaces including drawing, sound and performance.
 
Thank you to Art Therapy Force team for this experience, I felt at home integrating my expertise as mentor with the other amazing mentors and coordinators. All those kids coming from areas near the front line deserved this and more. For all the learning, the creations together, the laughter and tears, all was important part of this process, Дякую!
 
Here you can see some visual glimpses of this collective journey documented beautifully by Nelli Mynasova.
 
“Art Therapy Force”, aims to institutionalise and spread work methods with the psycho-emotional health recovery through creative and art practices with children, adolescents, students, volunteers, and veterans. More info about the Kids Art Retreat:
https://artherapyforce.com.ua/en/project/kids-s-art-retreat-projects-en/
 
#Arttherapy #ArtCollaboration #Ukraine #Arttherapyforce #Traumainformedpractice #KidsArtRetreat #workshops