Art in Action: Expressive Arts Therapy and Social Change (Arts Therapies)

The field of expressive arts is closely tied to the work of therapeutic change. As well as being beneficial for the individual or small group, expressive arts therapy has the potential for a much wider therapeutic impact. This book addresses how the principles and practice of the arts therapies can be and have been used successfully to inspire social action and bring about social change across the globe. The contributors explore the transformative power of arts therapies in areas stricken by conflict, political unrest, poverty or natural disaster. They look at how and why expressive arts works, and how it can be used to engage social consciousness and improve social conditions, taking into account the issues that arise within different contexts and with different populations. Leading expressive arts therapy practitioners give inspiring accounts of social projects they have worked on, from using poetry as a means of trauma intervention with Iraqi survivors of war and torture, to setting up storytelling workshops to aid the integration of Ethiopian Jewish immigrants in Israel. Offering visionary perspectives on the role of the arts in inspiring change at the community or social level, this is an important book for all students and practitioners of creative and expressive arts therapies, as well as psychotherapists, counsellors and others working to effect social change. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgments......Page 8 Foreword: Eureka! Discovering Gold in a Leaden World......Page 10 Part I: Principles......Page 20 1. Art Opens to the World: Expressive Arts and Social Action......Page 22 2. From Social Change to Art Therapy and Back Again: A Memoir......Page 32 3. Social Activism within Expressive Arts “Therapy”: What's in a Name?......Page 43 4. Communal Art-making and Conflict Transformation......Page 54 5. From the Studio to the World: How Expressive Arts Therapy Can Help Further Social Change......Page 79 Part II: Issues......Page 94 6. A Social–Critical Reading of Indigenous Women’s Art: The Use of Visual Data to “Show,” rather than “Tell,” of the Intersection of Different Layers of Oppression......Page 96 7. Inside-Out Outside-In Found Objects and Portable Studio......Page 105 8. From Private Pain Toward Public Speech Poetry Therapy with Iraqi Survivors of Torture and War......Page 129 Part III: Projects......Page 146 9. The Choreography of Absence (In)habiting the Imagination after War......Page 148 10. Creating Space for Change: The Use of Expressive Arts with Vulnerable Children and Women Prisoners in Sub-Saharan Africa......Page 160 11. Beauty in the Rough Places......Page 174 12. Art as a Gift: Expressive Arts in Bolivia......Page 190 13. A Black Dog on a Green Meadow: Doing Expressive Arts Therapyin Peru: Some Headlines......Page 200 14. These Stories are Burning a Hole in my Brain: Using the Arts to Tell the Stories of the Ethiopian Jewish Immigrant Community in Israel......Page 211 Afterword: The Power of Poiesis......Page 229 Contributors......Page 231 Subject Index......Page 235 Author Index......Page 240 The field of expressive arts is closely tied to the work of therapeutic change. As well as being beneficial for the individual or small group, expressive arts therapy has the potential for a much wider impact, to inspire social action and bring about social change.The book's contributors explore the transformative power of the arts therapies in areas stricken by conflict, political unrest, poverty or natural disaster and discuss how and why expressive arts works. They look at the ways it can be used to engage community consciousness and improve social conditions whilst taking into account the issues that arise within different contexts and populations. Leading expressive arts therapy practitioners give inspiring accounts of their work, from using poetry as a tool in trauma intervention with Iraqi survivors of war and torture, to setting up storytelling workshops to aid the integration of Ethiopian Jewish immigrants in Israel.Offering visionary perspectives on the role of the arts in inspiring change at the community or social level, this is essential reading for students and practitioners of creative and expressive arts therapies, as well as psychotherapists, counsellors, artists and others working to effect social change.