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Asociación Colombiana de Arte

Terapia

March 6, 2010 Newsletter 1

The Colombian Art

Therapy

Association is Born

By: Natalia Gómez

rt therapy in Colombia has an interesting yet intricate history that we continue to discover every day. Part of this history is the creation of the

Colombian Art Therapy Association. Our vision,

mission and bylaws came from a careful study of the

standards of sister

organizations around the world, in combination with the use of the creative process. On March 6th of 2009 we were legally incorporated. MISSION

The Asociación Colombiana de Arte-Terapia will establish high standards in Colombian Art Therapy education, investigation and practice, while supporting the premises of human rights, liberty, and tolerance for difference.

VISSION

The Asociación Colombiana de Arte-Terapia will be recognized for its ability to congregate responsible and committed persons, who will work together from the safe and inclusive space of the Association, for the

development of Art-Therapy in Colombia.

During this first year, the Association has prioritized its work on promoting and

educating about Art Therapy in Colombia. With this

intention we created a web page and conducted a series of meetings with key people from health, education and culture organizations in Bogota. Additionally, with the completion of pro-bono

projects, like the developed for the organization SANAR, we were able to start to document the effects and benefits of Art therapy with the Colombian population. And, with the participation in international conferences we shared the work that is happening in Colombia, and learned about the professionalization of Art Therapy.

Our effort on creating

awareness was crystallized on December 2009, when we had our official opening in Galería

! de Arte.

In 2010 we continue on our work on creating awareness and promoting Art Therapy. In January we started a series of monthly presentations about art therapy in

Galería

Expreso del Arte

, we expect they will become a space of meeting, learning and growing together.

*Work created with the intention of defining our vision.

Renovating The Image

of the Association!

We are currently revising

and developing a clear and

professional image that

unifies the expressive and

free aspects of art with the

scientific and holding of the

therapeutic.

We hope to count with

your support and

participation during our

second semester of

functioning.

New members

will be

announced in the next

newsletter:

Do not forget to complete

your requisites.

II Congreso Latinoamericano de Arte

Terapia: Construyendo redes en la región

A

Style Correction: María Isabel Angel Star Translator: María Isabel Angel Editor: Andrée Salom Publication of the Asociación Colombiana de Arte -–Terapia

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II Congreso Latinoamericano de Arte

Terapia: Construyendo redes en la región

Agosto 2009

By: María Cristina Ruiz

Santiago de Chile welcomed the II Latin American Art Therapy Congress, organized by the Universidad de

Chile’s Art Therapy Specialization, and by our counterpart, the Chilean Art Therapy Association - ACAT because of its initials in Spanish. Speakers came from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru and Spain. There were special guests from the United Kingdom, France and the United States of America. Subject matters included mental health, medicine, education and social and community work. Colombia was present with three talks:

Finalizing the event a forum uniting the delegations of the continent agreed to create the Red Latino-Americana de Arte – Terapia (Latin-American Art Therapy Web)

We continue strengthening bonds for the development and improvement of art therapy in our region. The third congress will be held in Brazil in 2011. More details at: www.congreso arteterapia.uch

O

n November 18 to the 22nd of 2009, Andrée Salom and I

participated in the American Art Therapy Association 40th Annual Conference in Texas. From the first moment we could feel the creative energy that invited us to learn and share.

We had the honor of presenting our paper “When Art Therapy Migrates: Developing programs in Colombia”. Feedback was food and we awoke the interest or great art therapists like Bobbi Stoll y Cathy Moon.

This conference had a variety of important events. The exhibit

“Process and Product: The Art of Edith Kramer”. J. Rubin y D. Arrington shared a video about the visionaries and pioneers who led the history of the American Art

Therapy Association. Later on came an inspiring presentation by P. T. Boll, who spoke about Art and Caring. And the work using

Mandalas presented by Dr. Adam y Allee Blatner.

Surrounded by more than 300 art therapists we had the opportunity to learn about Photo-art-therapy from J. Weiser, the relationship between the brain and the creative process from C. Belkofer, and the use of carving as a technique to process the anger of veteran women

from Val Sereno.

Three days filled with learning and sharing with old friends and professors. Throughout the conference we also had the opportunity to use a relaxation room and an Open Studio to take a break and process what we learned. This conference reminded me of the importance of the work we are doing in Colombia and allowed me to nurture from the experience of the great ones. who showed

enthusiasm and generosity by offering their collaboration on the creation and development of Art Therapy in Colombia.

By: Natalia Gómez

From Dallas the American Art Therapy

Association inspires new frontiers

1. When art therapy migrates: developing programs in Colombia.

Written by Natalia Gómez and Andrée Salom and presented by Ms. Gómez. The presentation discussed the challenges of transferring art therapy to countries where this profession is new. The need of creating cultural awareness so as to generate interventions and developing an authentic Colombian art therapy was confirmed.

2. Representation and presentation in art therapy. Presented by Carlos Andrés Gutiérrez. This experience was developed in a Colombian Therapeutic Community. Mr. Gutiérrez illustrated a process of intervention based in fine and scenic arts, which leads to creating, staging and presenting performance art.

3. Pictorial gesture and early infancy. Presented by María Cristina Ruiz. The author questioned a few art development theories and their implications in the construction of aesthetic awareness. Ms. Ruiz aimed to understanding the educational and therapeutic potential of such theories. Ms. Ruiz also facilitated the workshop “Painting, painting and just painting: the pictorial act in post modernity”.

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Founding Members

Ana María Melani. Artist, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá. Specialized in Art Therapy, IUNA (Instituto Universitario Nacional del Arte), Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Andrea Mutis. Artist, Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Bogotá. Masters in Art Therapy, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, España. Member of the Foro

Iberoamericano de Arteterapia.

Candidate for Gestalt Integrativa, Claudio Naranjo School, Bogotá.

Andrée Salom, MPS, ATR. Architect, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá. Masters in Art Therapy and Creativity Development, Pratt Institute, New York. Registered with the American Art Therapy Association.

María Cristina Ruiz Echeverry.

Communicator, Universidad del Valle, Cali. Masters in Art Therapy, Naropa University, Boulder, Colorado. Candidate for a Ph. D. in Art Education, Simon Fraser University, Canada.

María Isabel Ángel, MPS. Psychologist, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá. Masters in Art Therapy, School of Visual Arts, New York.

Natalia Estrada. Psychologist,

Universidad de Manizales, Manizales. Specialized in Art Therapy IUNA (Instituto Universitario Nacional de Artes de Buenos Aires), Buenos Aires, Argentina. Gestalt Therapist AGBA (Member of the Asociación Gestáltica de Buenos Aires) Buenos Aires, Argentina. Natalia Gómez, MAAT, ATR. Psychologist, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá. Masters in Art Therapy, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Registered with the American Art Therapy Association.

Tania Marcela Escobar. Psychologist, Universidad de Manizales, Manizales. Specialized in Art Therapy IUNA (Instituto Universitario Nacional de Artes de Buenos Aires), Buenos Aires, Argentina. Gestalt Therapist AGBA (Member of the Asociación Gestáltica de Buenos Aires) Buenos Aires, Argentina

Traveling Dreams

By: Natalia Gómez & María Isabel Angel

S

ueños que Viajan” (Travelling Dreams) is an art therapy Project that the Colombian Art Therapy Association developed with SANAR in July, 2009. SANAR is a Colombian NGO that provides services for

underprivileged children and adolescents in cancer treatment.

This project considered that therapeutic work in the context of pediatric oncology using art is said to be empowering and positive for cancer patients and their loved ones (Malchiodi, 1999). Art therapy has the power of reaffirming the person’s capacity of making decisions, as it offers different possibilities such as choosing materials, colors, and different expressive forms, among others. This freedom does not clearly exist in cancer treatment, where the person is inevitably required to take special medications and go through specific forms of medical procedures. (Council, 2003)

In addition, making art is a normalizing experience in itself. Art allows individuals to let go of the illness through the creative process

(Malchiodi, 1999). Such process focuses in the healthiest parts of the individual, and materializes in an art piece that transcends. It is then that the cognitive, emotional and corporal realms are integrated, thus creating a positive language that becomes determinant in medical recovery. Viewing the illness as an opportunity to introduce positive changes, as proposed by Cincotta (1993), and in line with SANAR’s posture, we witnessed the effectiveness of art therapy in generating constructive narratives in terms of having or having had cancer. Within two months of hard work, Dreams that Travel became a giant itinerant quilt that will travel along the different posts of SANAR around Colombia. The quilt compiles the dreams and wishes of about 60

individuals dealing with cancer including children and adolescent cancer patients, their family members, and SANAR’s medical personnel.

We thank the artists, personnel at SANAR, and in particular the psychologists Germán Piraquive and Aída Cruz

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The Asociación Colombiana de Arte-Terapia opens new spaces for discussion and information about the profession through monthly talks at the Galería Expreso del Arte.

The first one in 2010 was about the use of art materials in the field of art therapy, differentiating this use from the conventional use given to them in art production.

Art Materials in Art

Therapy

By: Ana María Melani

I

n contrast to other

disciplines that use art as a support for their work, in art therapy the art is always the main means through which work is done. In this way, the artistic doing is present throughout the whole therapeutic process. The working dynamics in art therapy is similar to that in a conventional art studio because the person actively participates manipulating and transforming the art

materials. However, even if the person acquires an artistic skill, or his or her artistic capacities improve, the aim of art therapy is not to train participants nor to pass on aesthetical, compositional or technical principles in the matters related to art making. In art therapy the art media sets up a way of working and a type of

language through

which interventions are made in the therapeutic process. In this way, art materials are taken as a means to treat those subject matters that emerge from the

creative action and the artistic outcome.

The art material is what makes possible the physical and symbolic construction of what the person wants to represent. Both the art media and the

participant shape and transform their reality, surpassing their own limits; both take on new and unknown forms that reveal their plasticity and capacity to construct and reconstruct them selves over and over. This is how the creative act promotes a

permanent exchange between body, mind and external world which in turn liberates thoughts, produces images and generates dialogues that become the raw material of the therapeutic process. When art tools serve as an intermediate

between thought and reality – this facilitates the physical

manifestation of forms that are conceived in the mind, which in turn awake tactile, visual

and emotional stimuli, it is important to note the own characteristics and different requisites that the art media require in order to be

manipulated. This, given that art materials can be fluid, resistant, complex, simple… What is certain is that they all stimulate the senses in one way or another, and they all

demand a corporal

involvement where the body is taken to adopt new postures. Consequently, the moment when art materials are

included in an art space where there are specific objectives, the differences between one medium or the other become significant and have a

determined influence in the person.

Developing a visual thought and understanding the

attributes of the art materials (textures, consistencies, hardness, etc.) enable the art therapist to take advantage of the benefits or liabilities that the different options offer for every particular case: every material has different virtues, and the inclusion of one or another sets up the path through which the person will walk through. This is why the artistic doing becomes an action that lays bridges

between internal and external worlds and gives light in terms of how to explore them: when person and art media are joined in an action that gives shapes to own realities, a mutually enriching interaction occurs.

"se trata de sacar la palabra del lugar de la palabra y ponerla en el

sitio de aquello que no habla" R. Juarroz

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Opening at the Galería ! de Arte

by: María Isabel Angel

E

The Colombian Art Therapy Association had its formal presentation to the public on 01/12/09, at the Galería ! de Arte in Bogotá. The opening was the conclusion of hundreds of meetings, discussions, changes, agreements and, mostly, a great deal of

team work.

From our early meetings we always thought about doing an art exhibit where the works of art would portray the art therapy process. The idea came up because we had to show the Colombian public what is this that we call art therapy. Being a new profession in the country, people often misunderstand

everything about it: thinking that art therapists work exclusively with children is common, as is assuming that whoever participates in a session has to have artistic abilities. People also believe that masterpieces will be produced and there is no room for that which is not pleasing to the eye.

In reality, art therapists not only work with children: they also do so with teenagers and adults. The truth is that indeed there are participants who have incredible artistic capacities, and there are also those who have not picked up a brush since elementary school. What is certain is that in art therapy nothing is considered trash because every form has the potential to be transformed and every mistake is rather a learning opportunity. These, among other things, were what we wanted the Colombian public to see.

Having all of the above in mind, the exhibition gathered pieces from participants of all ages in contexts of both individual and group art therapy. Viewers could also see photographs of experiences in jails, hospitals, therapeutic communities and social agencies among others. Moreover, we were

interested in showing art done by art therapists throughout their therapeutic process with clients: it was important for people to see how the own creative work is clarifying as it helps solve questions that emerge in therapeutic relationship.

All in all, the outcome of the opening was a positive one. More than 60 persons came that night, leaving with a clearer idea of what art therapy is about. Many joined the Association, and the gallery became a space to talk

about possible future projects and exchanging ideas. This is how on 01/12/09 an important step was taken towards consolidating this new profession in Colombia. Last but not least, in the name of the Colombian Art Therapy Association we want to thank the group of designers from Alter+End+Ego, and Mr. Isaías Gómez. There simply would not have been any show without their help. And of course, many thanks to the Galería ! de Arte for the generous lending of their space.

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Gallery:

Every edition will have a space to display artwork created by a member of the Colombian Art Therapy Association. The purpose of the space is to promote and sustain the artistic developments of the Colombian art therapist. More information on how to display your artwork will be available on the next issue

Ailatan

This sculpture expresses

feelings about being a woman. An emphasis is placed on the womb as the place where women feel, create, express and as the first home we inhabit. In her hands she holds the different roles a woman plays: cleaner, painter, worker, repairer, curer, etc.

This sculpture represents

beauty, sensuality and the contradiction of desiring roots and wings at the same time. By: Natalia Gómez

Art Therapy Talks

Every first Monday of the Month

Save your spot!

June 8

Color and Trauma

An experience with teenagers in a psychiatric setting

By: Maria Isabel Angel

April 5

Colombian Art Therapy Lessons and Considerations

By: Natalia Gomez

Presented at Art Therapy Conferences in Chile and Dallas. Creating art therapy programs in Colombia has illustrated the challenges involved in

transporting the profession and in making accurate theoretic and practical translations. This talk proposes an attitude of constant cultural awareness to create effective interventions in the development of Colombian Art therapy.

May 3

Attachments in Art Therapy A Gestalt View

By: Natalia Estrada

The importance of the

relationship between client, art therapist and art will be

discussed.

Building a clear alliance during the art therapy process allows for a climate of safety and trust. This allows expression to unfold and permits the artistic

products to become primary facilitators in the creation of a therapeutic relationship. Without attachments a therapeutic process will not unfold.

Limited Seats Please reserve your spot

5312221 o 318737317 expresodelarte.com

Place:

Galería Expreso del Arte Calle 81#13-50 Bogota, Colombia Centro Comercial Atlantis

Locales 209 2ª-112ª

Time: 6:30 PM

$15,ooo pesos Free for members

References

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