This week, an unusual exhibition has opened on the LIU Post campus. The students in the school’s art therapy program are exhibiting their work in the Sculpture Gallery on the east end of the campus.
“Their background is about 50/50 in fine arts and in something else,” said art therapy professor Ann Charlotte Tavolacci. “All of them have some experience with [art], but to some, this is their first exhibition, and to others, this is just another one,” she said. It opens up to some new, outside the box approaches that isn’t necessarily the usual.
The students’ assignments were given by Professor Tavolacci, but were open to interpretation. “So far, we have about 100 works,” Tavolacci said. There are about 20 students in the exhibition, but it is to be narrowed down. “Each student will have one or two in the show, so the walls will be pretty crowded,” she said.
The theme for the show is “It’s Personal.” The students have used words that their art represents for the show, and in posters promoting it. Tavolacci mentioned that with the different backgrounds, the words they’ve used have been equally different. Words such as “anxiety, instinct, isolation, music, hope, colorful,” are featured, so expect a variety of artwork as well. “It’s about the process, not the product,” Tavolacci said, emphasizing that the art therapy program isn’t a pure arts program. It’s a practice what you preach-scenario for the art therapists, as they try to experience first hand what they’re going to learn later on in their studies.
The Art Therapy undergraduate and graduate programs in LIU Post’s Art Department explore the interaction of the visual arts with psychological theories and practice. The Bachelor of Science degree in Art Therapy provides training for undergraduate students who wish to use their creative skills in a variety of health care environments. The program emphasizes preparation for graduate training in clinical art therapy. The “It’s Personal” exhibit opens on Monday, November 17 and runs through November 21, with an artist reception on November 19 at 5 p.m. The exhibition is open to all. For more information, call LIU Post’s Art Department at 516-299-2465.
This article was originally published in the Pioneer, the award-winning student newspaper of LIU Post, www.liupostpioneer.com, and is republished here by Blank Slate Media with the permission of the Pioneer.
