An unintentional inquiry – experiential knowing

The process began with the conception of the idea and the planning. Lett (2011) points out that art is a vehicle to represent experiencing and that we need to start with raw pieces of experiencing to get to the knowing and meaning. I started with the raw pieces and worked with another arts therapist, Georgie, who is also an experienced artist, to start mapping out a path. We discussed being inspired by other arts therapists around Australia who were exhibiting artwork and bringing awareness to our field of work. We also discussed the importance of ‘being seen’ and that this was a key part of what we offer clients. I felt it would be nice to give that experience back to ourselves as a form of self-care. Discussion about the impact of the pandemic on us as therapists also came up but we did not want to make the pandemic the focus. However, as a team we have felt an increase in a need for the services we provide since the pandemic. This has put extra strain on our resources as therapists. Intentionally setting time for art-making and giving to ourselves what we offer our clients seemed like a way to honour the extra pressure we were feeling. 

This was the first exhibition I was both coordinating and exhibiting in and while I had a sense of the complexity of the task, I was still compelled to push on. Two concepts were meaningful for me at this stage: the need to be seen and the need for myself and my team to make space for the artist parts of ourselves as an act of self-care. I mulled over a theme that would link our group together. This meant that while each of us would form individual inquiries when creating and processing the art, there would be a link between our team’s works. These early musings and discussions led to the artist’s brief and vision that would provide structure to our art-making.

Artist’s brief and vision:
The vision is for the team to have space to focus on and nurture the ‘artist’ side of being an arts therapist (as an act of self-care) and to work towards a group exhibition that allows us to be seen and heard as artists. The vision is that as a team we hold a professional and curated exhibition that showcases the intersection of being an artist and a therapist. This exhibition will give viewers the chance to get to know us as a team and as an organisation with the emphasis on us as both professional therapists and artists who offer high quality work. The flow on from this is that we will be spotlighting and bringing awareness to the field of arts therapy concurrently.

Continuing through the mud – presentational knowing

As we began moving into Heron and Reason’s (2001) idea of presentational knowing, through art-making, there were several complex moments that arose for myself and for my team. I will focus on four key parts:

• Shouldn’t we be focusing on process and not product?

• What if my art is rejected?

• I fear the unknown.

• But I’m not an artist.

Heron and Reason (2001) explore the reality of managing distress in their unpacking of a cooperative inquiry. This is a part of the process and to be expected. Moon (2001) echoes and extends this when she states that facing fears linked to the process of art-making “not only support us as individual artists, but also support the strength of our collective identity as arts therapists” (p.55). Reflection has allowed me to see that struggling with the four key parts outlined above were an important part of the growth process.

‘Shouldn’t we be focusing on process and not product?’ was one of the main reflections from the Arts Therapy Spectrum team. ‘Process – not product’ seems to be a catch cry of many of my arts therapy colleagues. My experience of this is that there is then an inflexibility around sometimes wanting to consider how the finished result could be. While it is important to give attention to the process as it contains rich ground for therapeutic inquiry, we don’t always have to forsake the final product or aesthetic sensibilities in an arts therapy process. For our art exhibition the only self-imposed stipulation was that we needed to use artist quality materials as well as good quality framing and canvases. This was to ensure the pieces were saleable. This meant that therapists could create in any way they wanted as long as they used high quality materials in the process. I am not arguing for or against the use of product over process. I am offering that a gentle expansion and flexibility to this thinking was needed. This is a rich example of the intersection between being an artist and an arts therapist. This is pertinent as Moon (2001) reminds arts therapists that “the profession of arts therapy has its roots in the studio and many of the pioneers of arts therapy were artists” (p.18). This reminder supports my desire to feel linked to the artist part of my identity.

The second complex piece I noticed was the fear of artwork created by the therapist being rejected and/or deemed not good enough. Putting art in a public space opens us up to being judged. Historically, public art audiences were critical and not open to the process and the vulnerability of what it takes to create art. I also reflected on how this fear taps into a larger theme of being seen and rejected as a person. Moving away from the gentle, caring, supportive spaces we create as therapists into what can often be the harshness of the public eye, it makes sense that this fear came up for members of my team. This felt like an excellent opportunity to remind ourselves of, and reflect on, how our clients may feel coming to an arts therapy session for the first time. Being able to move through this space with mindfulness and care for ourselves meant that we could have experiential knowing that would impact how we were with our clients moving forward. Hass-Cohen and Findlay (2015) explore the idea that an arts therapist engaging with their own art processes allows empathy for their clients and that their own art-making “supports the development of compassion toward the self” (p.390). This idea links to one of the overarching goals of the process, which was to allow an opportunity for me and the team to engage in self-care.

The next piece to process was the fear of the unknown. Several members of the team had exhibited before but for me and the rest of the team, this was the first time. I was steering the ship and while being somewhat guided, I was still navigating uncharted waters and had to hold a space of openness. I believe that through my work as an arts therapist for over a decade, I have cultivated the ability to stay connected and regulated in experiences of the unknown. I know through experiential knowing that my ability to be with what emerges is cultivated through working with many clients.

Installing together

Our exhibition was held at the Fleurieu Arthouse in McLaren Vale, Adelaide. Our support of each other as a team shone most brightly on the installation day which occurred the day before the exhibition. We chose to install the art works ourselves and, although challenging, it became a rich bonding experience. We had around 50 artworks to curate in the space and then hang. It took us the whole day to achieve this goal with many people helping. There was a buzz and sense of shared purpose among the team members. When I reflect on the experience of exhibiting as a team, this day is one that comes to mind as a standout moment. For me the sense was that we were near the culmination of the process of exhibiting our artwork.