Peace in the Global Village as a Creative Act:

An Art Therapy Vision

Oct 3, 4, 5, 6, 2002

A Canadian Art Therapy Conference

To held in beautiful Nelson, BC, Canada

In response to the way our world has changed this year we want to put forward the concept of peace in the global village as a creative act. The intention of this conference is to focus on the relationship of art therapy to issues of war, peace and justice. We want to explore the role that expressive therapies can play in healing, conflict resolution and pose the question ‘can peace be a creative act?’

With the numerous tragedies and a variety of violent acts and a violent war, questions of safety and security abound. We are all affected by murder and suicide in our high schools, the terrorist bombing of the twin towers, the waging of war, the Arab Israeli conflict, and the situation in Ireland just to name a few.

We want to expand our vision and our thinking and to look deeply at the meaning of peace and justice. We understand grief, tragedy and the roots of war and we see the impact of on going intergenerational trauma. But the question of how to work towards peace and how to find a way for each individual to engage in a creative act in a movement towards global peace needs to be explored.

We welcome presentations from expressive therapists in exploring the role of the arts in creating peace within ourselves and within our communities. Family art therapy can be a way of families coming to a place of peace and justice within the family. Community creative projects in the expressive arts are beginning to bring communities together. What is the place or role of expressive therapies in peacemaking? Is there an art to creating peace? Can we create a path so that difference and diversity can become a strength instead of a weakness. If we continue in the path of responding with “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth then the whole world will become blind and toothless.”

          We are looking forward to your proposals for papers, presentations, performances and workshops. We would like this conference to extend our thinking to envision the future and to push the boundaries of our present ways of responding to envision new and creative avenues towards peace.

The conference committee has started to generate ideas that we would like to see presented: the value of art therapy in cross-cultural situations, with refugees, with issues of trauma and violence. Other potential topics include the value of the creative process in recovery, the impact of media on children, the use of art in critical incident stress debriefing, the value of art therapy in healing from intergenerational issues stemming from residential school experience, and open studio expressive therapy projects.

Call for Conference Proposals: Due Feb. 28, 2002

Peace in the Global Village as a Creative Act: An Art Therapy Vision

Dates: Oct 3, 4, 5, 6, 2002 (October 3^rd would be pre-conference workshops)

Place: Nelson, BC, Canada

Call for papers, panels, presentations, workshops, video, performances.

Name of person submitting: __________________________________________________________________________________________

Professional status______________________________________________________________________________

Contact address: ___________________________________________________________________________________

Telephone: ___________________________

Email: _______________________________

Title of submission: ___________________________________________________________________________________

Co-presenters (names, credentials, addresses, email): ___________________________________________________________________________________

Format: Workshop  __ Paper __ Panel __ Video __ Performance __

Time required: 60 min __ 90 min. __ 150 min. (2 ½ hr) __ Other ___

Audience limited to __ number of participants; __ no limit.

Focus: Art therapy __ Music therapy __ Dance/movement therapy __ Drama therapy __ Poetry therapy __ Multi-modal __ Other (specify) ____________

Requirements:

Art materials (describe)___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

Audio/visual equipment ___________________________________________________________________________________

Other ___________________________________________________________________________________

1) Abstract (300 word maximum) with references, plus a copy of the paper to be presented or detailed outline of the workshop. List a maximum of 3 presentation objectives and a statement of known emotional or other risks. 

2) Release forms: I have obtained all necessary release forms for the client artwork and pertinent comments, which I intend to use in the presentation.

Signature ___________________________ Date _______________________________

3) Brief biographical information for each presenter and a brief (50 word) description of the presentation for the conference brochure.

Send submissions to: Canadian Art Therapy Conference, c/o Kutenai Art Therapy Institute

                                             #201 Front Street, Nelson, BC,  V1L 4B6

Email: kati@netidea.com

Phone 250 352 2264    Fax 250 352 5911