Editors' Notes

Sarah Gysin (RP(Qualifying), MA)
Ottawa, ON

Over the last year and a half, we have witnessed changes that have forever marked how we live, learn, and practice as art therapists. As a recent graduate, entering the field during this time was both a wondrous and incredibly scary experience. Amidst the social, cultural, and structural shifts of this past year, I have witnessed my fellow art therapists show incredible resilience, passion, and care for themselves and others.

I think myself and many others are still learning the beats to the chorus this new world, and in doing so, are cultivating our own rhythms in response. So many of these changes have been challenging and painful, but necessary.

I was honoured to witness the rhythm and flow of Patricia’s own work on Envisage during our editing process of this current issue, and experience all that she brings to this publication. I am incredibly grateful to be continuing her work as editor of Envisage in the future. As someone located at the intersection of many privileges, I wish to continue Envisage’s commitment to social justice, and cultivate it as a space where we learn, share, collaborate and support one another. As editor, I will also make my own commitment to continued learning, action, and support of fellow art therapists who have a different voice and different experience than my own.

Patricia's knowledge, experience, and care for this publication will leave some rather large shoes to fill. While I am certain there will be some stumbles, it is just another rhythm I will soon learn with time, and I am so thankful to be dancing along with all of you.

Patricia Ki (RCAT, RSW, PhD Cand.)
Tkaronto

A wholehearted welcome to Sarah! I too am grateful — for Sarah’s new perspectives and energy, for her commitment to hold space for delightful, hopeful stories alongside challenging, painful, necessary ones. Envisage is shaped by these stories. Our field is shaped by these stories, and it is continually transformed by our willingness to listen, to reflect, to learn and unlearn, to notice and repair when we’ve done harm, to shape and reshape our practices toward broader social transformation.

The theme of this issue, New Rhythms, was initiated by Sarah. It created space for art therapists to share challenging pandemic and life experiences in caring for themselves and others, as well as their ways of journeying through these challenges with making, looking within, and reaching out. Sarah’s theme created space for resonance and inspirations, reflecting and connecting the resonant and inspiring spaces that our contributors cultivated out of their unique circumstances.

We are also grateful for art therapist Linda Manitowabi, for sharing with us about her journey in the healing arts with her community, and for scholar and activist Elene Lam, for her encouragement and illustrations of how creative arts therapies can move beyond individualist practices to social collective action.

Truths Arise, in progress

I’ve been working on an art response to the call from WHEAT’s Memorial Gallery, which commemorates the 37500+ children buried at former residential school sites, and honours the survivors of residentials schools, and the descendants of those who were taken to residential schools, across so-called Canada. I encourage fellow settler creative arts therapists to take time to listen and respond, if you haven’t had a chance to do so already.

The piece stretches across the length of my small living room as I work on it slowly everyday. And every morning I’m greeted by the gold paint catching the sunlight of a new day, as if dancing off the crumpled, ink soaked book pages. Truths arise. The truth of genocide and the truths of survival and of wisdoms and of strengths arise from interlocking, cemented institutional systems that tried to keep them buried. My family had an alternative destination to call home away from a different kind of colonial and political subjugation because of the colonization and destructions of lives and livelihoods on this land. I can do this work and write these words to you because I benefit from stolen land. While I continue my work and my words in other spaces, my wish for Envisage is that it will continue to grow and transform as a space for truths to be expressed, for systemic/structural boundaries to be pushed, for rhythms of the status quo to be changed especially when change is — as Sarah shared — challenging and painful but necessary, and for us to be accountable in enacting our different responsibilities of caring for this land and each other from our different locations.

Much love and gratitude,
Patricia