Art Therapy Exhibitions

Together with the groups I organised two very successful Art Therapy exhibitions. In 1995 "Dreaming in the Jungle" and in 1996 "Inside Out". Both these events took place at Sutton House, a National Trust property in Hackney, an ideal setting for such powerful and deeply moving exhibitions.

There are photographs, visitors books and videos which demonstrate the very positive response by the community at large. Some of these images appear on this web site. A number of issues were raised as a consequence of the exhibitions. Most prominent was the controversial debate of whether art therapy, which after all is a very private process, should be on exhibition. My experience was that it added to the groups interaction with each other, it was yet another way of working together and communicating. It also had the effect of widening the art therapy audience, showing people that it can be there for everyone and its not just for people with mental health problems or for people who could afford therapy generally. It showed that there are wide and diverse methods of accessing and dealing with issues and problems.

If you are interested in talking about putting together a similar event I would be happy to share my experiences with you.

All text and pictures have been reproduced with the consent of the participants