Monday, April 22, 2013

Thesis Show....

Art Therapy in Black…



CHICAGO – Rumble Arts Center, 3413 W. North in Chicago, will host Art Therapy in Black…, a public presentation by veronica precious bohanan  and Johannil Napoleón Castro Fornisa Ramirez as a graduation requirement for the School of the Art Institute’s Masters of Art Therapy program. A special opening night presentation and performance will begin the exhibit on Friday, May 17, 2013, 6pm, and will run through June 30.

Their work encompasses a mixed-media, visual arts, and performance presentation of “artist as therapist” identities and the artists’ thesis findings, comprised of the completed artwork created during the thesis process. The artists believe that as burgeoning art therapists and women of African descent, they were compelled to conduct thesis projects and put together an exhibit/presentation/performance that was culturally sensitive, acknowledged strengths, negate racial/cultural stereotypes, and promote innovative art therapy practices.

This collaboration reflects the artists’ complimentary topics and methods, as they are both using an arts-based research methodology, and they are both working with adolescents. Arts-based research is a method that systematically uses the artistic process as a way of examining/interpreting the experience by both investigators and research participants. Instead of traditional scientific, verbal, or mathematical analyses of phenomena, the art is the data.

Napoleón’s arts-based research focuses on African-American adolescent women survivors of sexual abuse in a high school based program. “I set out to investigate: How can creating a [wo]mannequin or female body form in art therapy help African-American adolescent women survivors of sexual abuse promote greater self-worth about their body image? My research is rooted in societal stereotypes, African-American history, and the adolescent’s sexual trauma experiences. To support them, I will also engage in the art-making process by creating a body form of my own.”

bohanan’s arts-based research focuses on her experiences as a clinical art therapy intern at a residential treatment center with predominately African American boys. “Within a culturally competent and trauma-informed framework, I explore how to effectively incorporate integrated arts and Positive Youth Development values into my art therapy practice with adolescent boys. Central to my exploration is my personal art-making/creative expressions and processing questions after each session to inform therapeutically sound directives and interventions.”

Saturday, April 20, 2013

A Different Approach to School Safety

"Say Yes to Counselors, No to Cops" in Chicago Public Schools 

View this short documentary that highlights how one urban school in Chicago manages school safety without relying on law enforcement or harsh school disciplinary policies.

As a part of the "Say Yes to Counselors, No to Cops" campaign, I'll facilitate a conference call  tomorrow (April 21, 5pm) to discuss the drafting of a "Counselors' Bill of Rights." This document will detail best counseling practices and what will be expected of counselors as not to pathologize or criminalize our youth. If you are interested in being a part of this effort email me at veronica@veronicabohanan.com for the call-in details. 

For more details about the "Say Yes to Counselors, No to Cops" campaign visit http://yes2counselors.wordpress.com/.

Friday, April 19, 2013

be encouraged...

Day 19 NaPoWriMo 2013 (c) vpb
oil/chalk pastels & markers on Strathmore smooth white. 

Thursday, April 11, 2013

needle to heal..

a radical act for African American women is to actively practice self-care. 
below is a sampler of my acupuncture self-portrait/self-care photo series.  










 

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Met Expectations...

New photo series. 

I am exploring group dynamics, and how to best be authoritative vs. authoritarian when using Positive Youth Development in art therapy. 









Day 2 & 3 NaPoWriMO

dAy 2
Installing Hope...

she spits three times
walking by a cemetery
on her way south.
she tarries with intention,
dropping to her knees she digs
digs
digs
&digs-
scooping up earth in rooted chunks.
tears fall...
years shed.
she buries boulders,
deinstalling the fortress
around her heart. (c) vpb

DaY 3
Spring Forward
a. 
she kisses the sunshine on the lips. 
b.
the afternoon lingers leisurely on the edge of cold with hopes for hot. 
c.
she sips the end of the day entangled with accomplishments and him. 

 

 

Monday, April 1, 2013

Day 1: 30 in 30 . NaPoWriMo

Today's poem is inspired by Reproductive Justice. Womyn, let's tend to our health and wellness.