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October Issue 2004
Converse College in Spartanburg, SC, Features Exhibit Focused on Art Therapy
Circles
of Hope and Healing (detail)
The South Carolina Art Therapy Association in conjunction with Converse College in Spartanburg, SC, presents, Circles of Hope and Healing, an exhibition of mandalas created by varied client populations throughout the state of South Carolina. The exhibition will be on view at the College's Milliken Art Gallery from Oct. 7 - 22, 2004.
The word "mandala" comes from the ancient Sanskrit word for circle - a shape found in all cultures and for centuries used in association with self-expression and personal growth. Researchers have found mandalas often emerge spontaneously in the artwork of a person undergoing a personal change or transformation.
Art therapy blends characteristics from the visual arts and the behavioral sciences that help people to express feelings, explore problems, and communicate with each other through creative processes.
Art therapists throughout South Carolina recently undertook a two-year project in which diverse populations were asked to represent their symbols of hope and healing in a group or individual mandala. The results are as diverse as the individuals themselves, symbolizing many unique stories of personal transformation or healing that are being included in this exhibition.
Circles of Hope and Healing is being held in conjunction with a conference on trauma taking place on campus with speaker, Dr. Linda Gantt, presenting a theoretical and practical model of the treatment of trauma-related disorders ranging from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to the dissociative disorders.
This exhibition explores the practical application of therapy techniques used as a result of the human brain storing events in images making it possible for trauma survivors to process their traumas visually.
Regardless of the specific type of trauma (medical, physical abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence, natural or man-made disasters, or industrial accidents), adults and children can use this approach to deal with the troubling and often disabling symptoms of flashbacks, nightmares, phobias, and troubling emotions.
The contributing SC art therapists will be discussing the work in the exhibition and its healing properties during the a closing reception on Oct. 22, 2004.
The Milliken Gallery will be closed on Oct. 18 & 19, 2004, for Fall Break.
For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call the gallery at 864/596-9181 or e-mail at (artdesign@converse.edu).
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