Tentative Schedule For The Rest of the Semester

Week-By-Week Schedule for the Next 4 Months (Fall Semester 2018)

This schedule will be updated and changed to reflect the project

September

Week #1

Week #2

Week #3 (9/17-9/21) Oral History Seminar [Completed]

–Week #4 (9/24-9/28) Creating flyers to be handed out at VA hospitals etc. Reaching out to local VA hospitals, psychology department at Smith College–

October

Week #1 (10/1-10/5) Oral History Seminar

Week #2 (10/8-10/12) Dropped off flyer at VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System in Florence Massachusetts. Have yet to hear back, speaking in person much better.

Week #3 (10/15-10/19) Met with advisor and Professor DiBartolo Associate Dean of the Faculty and psychology professor. In each meeting we discussed who to reach out to next.

-putting flyers in coffee shops for broader community connection.

-finding local artist studios who may work and have classes for veterans.

-Reach out to the Hill Institute in Florence Massachusetts which provides various art classes for the community. May have contacts or work with veterans.

-Contacting the School for Social Work here at Smith to see if there are any contacts for art therapy.

-Unfortunately, the professor who with PTSD studies is on sabbatical for this term, so may have to reach out to professors within the Five College Consortium for more background on art therapy.

Week #4 (10/22-10/26) Sent out many emails to local art therapy psychologists and galleries that teach and engage with art therapy. This website: http://www.clinicalartassociates.com/resources.html

provides excellent resources on art therapy and would be great to get in touch with as the clinic is run by two practicing Board Certified Art Therapists and Licensed Mental Health Counselors.

November

Week #1 (10/29-11/2)

- Reached out to the VA Hospital in Florence MA and was connected with the head of PR who will help me engage with the veterans and advise on how to conduct interviews.

-Thought that it would be a great idea if there could be a showing of artwork created by female veterans at the Smith College Museum as a way to connect with the community and allow this very moving work to be appreciated.

Week #2 (11/5-11/9

Week #3 (11/12-11/16)

Week #4 (11/19-11/23)

Week #5 (11/26-11/30)

December

Week #1 (11/3-11/7) [Interviews with veterans]

Week #2 (11/10-11/14)

Week #3 (11/17-11/21)

[Semester Ends]

Future Goals for this project:

This is, of course, a project that can and should be worked on beyond a semester. For the future of this project I would like to address and explore the following questions:

1) Understand the non-profit aspect of this project. If this had the opportunity to be developed into a non-profit that provided veterans with a space to show their work, but also a chance to sell their original work or reproductions on calendars, mugs, greeting cards, etc. what are the procedures that must be followed to turn this into one?

2) Conducting interviews with the Econ and Art Departments on how to assist in assigning value to art and understanding more the market for this kind of artwork.

Planning and Structuring this Project Officially

During my junior year I decided to work directly with my college to produce the best and most thorough work that I could. I presented my work to the art history department and was told to consider making this website, and the work associated with it, as part of a special studies that would receive credit. It had been incredibly difficult to build the work into my schedule before, on top of a full course load, extracurriculars, and a job. However, when I opened up the project to departments and help from the school, I found the rhythm I needed and the resources required to complete this project to it’s fullest potential.

As soon as I had the chance to sit down and plan out how this project would unfold throughout the semester, I became excited about interviews with professors, technical assistance and website design programs, and general advice that were now at my disposal. This no longer seemed like a daunting task to take upon my own shoulders, but an opportunity to explore this through a multidisciplinary lens. A plan was beginning to form.

I knew my ultimate goal was to sit down with the veterans and hear their experiences with art therapy. However, there were so many steps that I needed to go through to produce a successful interview. As soon as I presented my idea to the department, I was signed up for a three week seminar on oral history, something that proved incredibly helpful, as it would guide me through the process of collecting narratives. After this seminar I plan on speaking to the psychology and art history departments to understand their perspective and experience with art therapy. One of the final parts to this project will be to explore how accessible and available art therapy programs are in veterans hospitals and what might be standing in the way from making them more universal.

I have a lot to consider and explore in this project, but it stems from the belief that art, one of humanities more in depth forms of expression, is a healing outlet that should be encouraged. Taking the time to focus ones mind and release the inevitable frustrations, fears and eagerness can produce some of the most fascinating and complex representations of the inner self on paper or canvas.