SPECIAL (MEDICAL EDUCATION) SYMPOSIUM ON ART AGAINST STIGMA
Art Against Stigma: Social Experience of Illness
Today when we are constantly reminded of the dangers of thinking in exclusive terms, art affords us a model of dialogue in which the other is accepted as an equal conversation partner. Art fosters cooperative communication in which dignity and individuality of a mental health patient may be reaffirmed. At the same time, art allows for critical distance, retrospection, and vast opportunities for individual choice, and thus may be conducive to an improved self-image and self-esteem. This presentation emphasizes the role of art in facilitating personal empowerment, fostering the healing process, and confronting stigma. It also invites to a multidisciplinary discussion of human creativity as a function of the brain.
The selection of artworks brings together exemplary pieces from various countries around the world, including artists represented in museums and galleries as well as those working in hospitals or even in hidden isolation.
Lectures to take place as part of the symposium:
HOW ART MAY BE A TOOL FOR UNDERSTANDING OTHER CULTURES AND THEIR PERCEPTION OF ILLNESS|
M. Kastrup, Psychiatry, Centre Transcultural Psychiatry, Copenhagen, Denmark
CULTURAL MEDIATIONS IN THE THERAPEUTIC PROCESS WITH BORDER LINES ADOLESCENTS
M. Botbol, Ministry of Justice, Direction of Juvenile Justice System, Paris, France
THE ROLE OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES IN UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL CURRICULA
E. Sukhanova, City University of New York, New York, USA
Curators: Drs. Ekaterina Sukhanova and Hans-Otto Thomashoff,
Examples of artwork to follow.
Heinz Müllerh (born 1953)
Untitled (Portrait), 2002
Andrew Mass (born1963)
40 portraits—Ghetto Graffiti, 2008
Richard Smith (born 1947)
Man, Metaphysics and Its Subtleties, 2005