Portrait Masks, Appropriated Space, and an Overseas Art Experiential: Nature as Critical Catalyst in the Practice and Training of Art Therapy

Abstract

This article asserts that there are current trends in the practice and training of art therapy that are influenced and inspired by technologies, space, and art. Culture enriches these intertwined constructs demanding that practice and training are duly informed, especially within the contexts in which these are applied. The article is consolidated through a practitioner-based reflective account of the author’s experience of leading a weeklong overseas trip with postgraduate art therapy students from Singapore to Bali, Indonesia. Acknowledging the multilayered processes involved with experiential learning, the focus pivots around one structured and supervised art experiential within an appropriated space in nature. Portrait masks were constructed, worn, and photo-documented within the space. Participant understanding of technologies, space, art, and artmaking were challenged, leading to enriched discourse around these constructs and how best to integrate these emerging trends within their own practice and training, as well as their identities as artist and art therapist with consideration to culture.