Expressive Arts Therapy at Raw Art Works
A series of exhibits, and a film taking us behind the scenes of one exhibit are shared, providing a view into a way of working with young people and the arts that builds on their assets while providing structure and safe, brave spaces for them to tell their stories—"creative youth development” is also introduced.
Raw Art Works, a community-based creative arts therapy organization, was founded by art therapists who believed in the power of art for young people to tell their stories, own their stories, share their wisdom with each other and the community, and help to vision their ways forward, beyond the stories which they were living. With the mission to ignite the desire to create and the confidence to succeed in underserved youth, RAW moved from working with incarcerated youth into a community setting called RAW Space.
It started a multi-generational journey founded on principles and practices of creative arts therapy and belief that through the arts, young people could not only transcend the struggles of their lives, but transform their way forward, and become leaders in the community. A series of exhibits, and a survey of the concepts and guiding questions beyond the core themse of the exhibits, is explored in this webinar.
A brief film from RAW’s “Real to Reel” digital film school is screened, which takes us behind the scenes of one exhibit, allowing participants insights from the youth point of view. This overview provides the framework for a breakout session where participants will create an outline of such an exhibit, rooted in expressive arts therapy, from theme, to warm ups, to concept, to guiding questions, considering a multi-arts perspective, right through to opening night. The intersection of arts therapy and the relatively new field identified in the US called creative youth development/CYD” is also introduced. Both CYD and EAT/Creative Arts Therapy share the belief in the transformative power of creativity.
