Resonance & inspirations: Sharing stories of creating, looking within, reaching out through change.
Chorus of the new world: Collective healing, community empowerment, and social transformation.

Amanda Gee (Lower Sackville, NS)

Across the country and the world I know we are all adjusting, adapting and creating new rhythms in our lives and in our work in this ongoing pandemic. Things sure have changed, and while some things will go back to our old normal, some things will be changed forever.

Sarah Gysin (Ottawa, ON) & Patricia Ki (Tkaronto)

We are still learning the beats to the chorus of this new world, and in doing so, are cultivating our own rhythms in response. We wish to continue Envisage’s commitment to social justice, and cultivate it as a space where we learn, share, collaborate and support one another.

Art Therapy Conversations
Rebecca Montgomery (Vancouver, BC)

Linda Manitowabi is an Anishnaabe-kwe from Wikwemikong First Nation who combines art therapy with traditional teachings and ceremonies of the Ojibwe Midewiwin Society, connecting Indigenous people to their healing journey. Linda met with Rebecca and shared her stories and journey in the healing arts.

Elene Lam (Hamilton, ON)

By sharing examples of community art projects I have been part of, I hope to illustrate how art-making can bring transformative change at individual, collective and societal levels. My intent is to inspire art therapists to see themselves as social activists and to recognize their role in social change.

Artwork by Sarvatmika Rajeev (Chennai, India), Caralyn Randa (Vancouver, BC), Sherry Lynn (Grimsby, ON), Hyon Stee (Victoria, BC), and Dillon Lewchuk (Victoria, BC).

Art therapists share reflections on the continual emerging through experiences of the pandemic and awareness of colonial violence.

Olivia Tan (Vancouver, BC)

Creating this art gave me the strength to find the rhythms of my inner peace, just like the heartbeat, it vibrated, ready to move on. Instead of spreading the wings, the embraced wings were like hugs, which gave me a sense of comfort, support and courage.

Li June Han (Singapore)

I was startled awake by the question of where I was going and who I was one morning. As an art psychotherapist, I often guided others on their journey of self-discovery to find their authentic selves. I wondered if I have answers for my quest for true identity.

Ana Kuzmic-Garant (Toronto, ON)

The outer world is coiled within systems that try to constrain it, yet it is just another pure vessel at its core. Arbitrary forces don’t shape or define it. There is a rhythm. From there, the ‘other’ is present as yet another whole: beings, objects, the planes we currently exist on, and the landscapes we occupy. There is digression and there is repetition, yet more importantly, there is a fruitful allowance that responds to one’s calls for healing.

Domenica Mastromatteo (North Vancouver, BC)

This paper outlines my experience as a practicum student facilitating a telehealth art therapy group to support adolescents and young adults. As we worked on issues of isolation, fear and anxiety, we honoured the painful disharmonies of life.

Anna Nike Leskowsky (Toronto, ON)

Many hours of journaling and reflecting on my life were my primary activities during lockdown. One thing that consistently was coming back to me in my thoughts was the memory of art. I remember how the presence of art helped me to overcome anxiety when I was worrying about my future and the well-being of my family.

Nature’s Way
Taylor Bourassa (Ottawa, ON)

Nature’s Way is a regular column in Envisage that explores eco-art therapy and invites practices of enhancing our relationship with the earth. In this issue, Envisage writer Taylor Bourassa reflects on the theme “new rhythms” and shares a creative practice of slowing down.

Lisa Nackan (Thornhill, ON)

The summer of the pandemic was one of life and death, and the contradiction between the confinements of lockdown we were experiencing, and the magic and freedom I discovered in the midst of trees, silent witness to the marvellous hidden lives of the foxes in my neighbourhood.

April Penny (Hamilton, ON)

Hope emerged in its own rhythm, as I began to create art and to establish a personal grounding within a much needed daily practice during these stressful pandemic times. This rhythm has helped to provide me with time for reflection and processing as personal challenges gained momentum and losses piled up.