WORKSHOP/ DISCUSSION Charlotte CHW 'Art for your sake' Call Out for participants Therapeutic arts workshop + discussion Deadline: 18th May Sunday 24th May (11h - 14h30)
A half-day workshop using a range of 2D and 3D media as well as sound to explore ways in which therapeutic processes can be part of the ongoing development of creative practice.
More details Too often as “creatives” competing for scarce opportunities in an economy that is enduringly tough on the arts, we are no longer making “art for art’s sake”, but second guessing others; for funding, to seek mainstream popularity and/ or exposure, and of course to make money. Yet the best work is born of play and experimentation. Art can still be good for us, it can still be for us. Even when it is our day-to-day work it should not always be a form of stress and anxiety as I see in so many peers. As much as they love what they do and are creative in their jobs, they no longer make work for their eyes only - a large percentage of it resulting from someone else’s boundaries imposed on another proposal. In discussion we will be addressing how an approach that encompasses play and disclosure can be advantageous or disadvantageous to our art practice and where the boundaries lie if there are any.
Activities Using my extensive background as a facilitator in therapeutic arts settings, my study of art psychotherapy, and experience of utilising disclosure in my own art practice I will help to facilitate the re-education of the participants’s personal forms of creativity and ability to “play” with materials both in a group context and alone. This will take place through a series of short 2D and 3D, solo and collaborative exercises incorporating a range of media including sound and clay and will include expressive and responsive exercises. We will be exploring and questioning notions of mastery, chance, decision and indecision.
Outcome You will leave with a mini-journal as a reference point for further personal artistic development, though ideally these will be left in the space on display for the rest of the Alt MFA Jamboree residency as will other objects made during the session.
Follow up I take a reflective approach to my facilitation and would also ideally like to host a 1 hour follow-up session a month or two after, which anyone can attend discussing how/ if the workshop affected how the participants approached their creative work/ lives. A suitable date can be set during the workshop.
Signing up This workshop is free and open to anyone. To apply please send no more than 200 words about your current creative practice if applicable and/or no more than 200 words about why you would like to undertake the workshop to c.hwatts.art@gmail.com. Please also feel free to ask me any questions on this address.
There are only 8 places available. Please apply early and by the 18th May to avoid disappointment. PLEASE NOTE: I am not a fully HPC Registered Art Psychotherapist- the activities we will take part in are experiential.
