Healing Arts Ukraine: Trauma Attuned Arts School
From 23–26 June, the Trauma Attuned Arts School will take place as part of the Healing Arts Ukraine initiative.
The School aims to deepen understanding of the role of arts in working with trauma and to build a network of artists, educators, psychologists, and other professionals working at the intersection of arts and health. This network will support the integration and development of trauma-informed approaches across different fields, strengthening society’s capacity to respond to trauma.
Venue: Home of Sound, LME Lviv Radio, Lviv
Dates: 23–26 June, daily from 09:30 to 17:00
The four-day programme will include lectures by Ukrainian and international experts, practical workshops, and discussions. The School will bring together 35 participants, with priority given to those who are able to integrate the acquired knowledge into their institutions, educational practices, therapeutic sessions, and other professional contexts.
Who is it for?
Artists, psychologists, educators, healthcare and social care professionals, and other specialists working in the field of arts and health who are at the beginning of their professional journey, have recently started applying arts-based practices for emotional and psychological recovery, or are interested in doing so in the future.
Applications are now closed.
Speakers
Christopher Bailey is the former Head of the Arts and Health Department at the World Health Organization, the founder of the Healing Arts Initiative, which researches the impact of art on health and brings together scientists from around the world. He is also the co-founder of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab.
The lab focuses on researching the evidence base for the health benefits of art, establishing a global network of research centers to study effective practices and the fundamental science behind how art can enhance physical, mental, and social well-being.
Veronika Skliarova is a cultural manager, theatrical producer, and art curator. She is the director of the NGO “ART DOT”, the head and founder of the Art Therapy Force project, and the program director of the Parade-fest festival. She has participated in international residencies and produced performative projects such as “Crimea, 5 a.m.”, “Ukrainian Odyssey”, and “Lesya. History”.
She was also the coordinator of the Ukrainian pavilion at the Avignon Off-Theater Festival, several national theater festivals in Europe, a jury member of the Polish dramatic prize Avrora in Bydgoszcz, and the coordinator/producer of the exhibition “Kurbas. Workshops”, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the founding of the artistic association “Berezil”.
Darren Abrahams is a singer, coach, trauma therapist and trainer working internationally to support changemaking leaders navigate crises while prioritising wellbeing.
Darren is co-founder of The Human Hive, a social enterprise with the ambition to train 8 million regenerative ChangeMakers by 2030. He is on the steering team of The Complete Freedom of Truth, an international youth-led project developing global youth citizenship through culture and the arts, and serves as a trainer and Wellbeing Adviser for Musicians Without Borders, where he trains musicians to use music for peacebuilding.
Darren is co-founder of the One World Orchestra, an inter-cultural ensemble of musicians based in the UK, exploring the idea of ‘Home’ through music. Additionally, he co-presents the Conscious Creative Leadership podcast with Nadine Benjamin MBE, discussing leadership in the 21st Century. Darren is an expert at helping people feel safe while bringing communities together for healing.
Anastasia Portnova is an integrative, body-oriented psychotherapist, mindfulness instructor, and author of psychoeducational and rehabilitation programs, masterclasses, trainings, courses, and research projects.
Henry Redwood is a lecturer in War Studies at King’s College London. His work examines how communities are formed through, and as a result of, war, with a specific interest in the role that law, archives, and aesthetics play in this process.
Henry has received several research council grants to support this work (ESRC and AHRC), and he has been widely published, including a monograph with Cambridge in 2021 titled “Archival Politics of International Courts”. Henry regularly collaborates with practitioners as part of his research and engagement, including the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Opera Circus, BlkBrd Collective, and Mark Neville. He has co-produced several public exhibitions and artworks, including “Undiscernible” (2019) and “The Notebook” (2020) with Vladimir Miladinović.
Olena Sira is a weaver, museum specialist, and art therapist at the Mental Health Centre of the Unbroken Rehabilitation Centre.
The Trauma Attuned Arts School is part of Healing Arts Ukraine — an arts and health campaign to support military health, veteran recovery and civilian resilience in times of conflict.
Healing Arts Ukraine is implemented by Art Therapy Force as part of the global Healing Arts initiative by Jameel Arts & Health Lab, with the support of the WHO Regional Office for Europe under the Health Resilience in the Eastern Partnership programme, funded by the European Union. It is delivered through a national coalition of organisations working at the intersection of culture, healthcare, education, and policy, including the Lviv City Council, Lviv Radio Municipal Enterprise, the Institute of Culture Strategy, the UNBROKEN rehabilitation centre, and King’s College London.