Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
February 8, 2007 issue
ASU to Host International Expressive Arts Conference in May
Register by February 15 for a $75 Discount
Story by Corinne Saunders
“Human creativity is part of the ongoing creative processes of the natural world,” said conference co-chair Dr. Sally Atkins. Expressive Arts and the Earth: Ancient Mountains, Whispering Waters, Sacred Stones is the title and theme of an upcoming conference at ASU that will expand upon this idea.
“Expressive arts therapy is based on ancient traditions, although it is a relatively new addition to psychotherapeutic practices,” Atkins said.
From Wednesday, May 23, to Sunday, May 27, Appalachian State University will host the seventh conference of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA), held in conjunction with North Carolina Arts for Health.
The conference will mark the first time the IEATA and North Carolina Arts for Health have teamed up since their individual beginnings in the mid-1990s, and the conference will be one of the first international conferences for the arts held in Boone.
An estimated 300 to 350 conference participants, including artists, educators, healthcare professionals, graduate students, undergraduate students, counselors, therapists and others, will “share experiences in art making and the power of the arts in healing, share research and hear from experts in the field,” Atkins said.
The conference will feature more than 60 concurrent sessions, including many art-making workshops along with presentations by professionals, including approximately 15 international experts.
The keynote panel features expressive arts pioneer Natalie Rogers of the Saybrook Institute and daughter of noted psychologist Carl Rogers; Paulo Knill, provost and founder of the European Graduate School in Switzerland; and Shaun McNiff of Lesley University, author of Art as Medicine and other books.
Other highlights of the conference include expressive arts vendors, educational displays, a conference bookstore, a research poster session, a poetry reading and performances with music, dance and drama.
Evening performances on Thursday and Friday nights will be open to the public for a small donation.
Boone was chosen for the conference because of ASU’s expressive arts therapy graduate program and its location in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, reflected in the conference title.
“Come to the sanctuary of the Blue Ridge Mountains, to a land that gives birth to four rivers including the river Cherokee named Watauga, Whispering Waters,” advises the IEATA website.
All those who register for the conference by February 15 will save $75 in registration fees. The conference price is $300 for early student registration, $375 for members of either organization and $475 for nonmembers who register by February 15.
For more information, click to www.ieata.org or www.ncartsforhealth.org.