WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., Jan. 18, 2022 — West Liberty University Creative Arts Therapy students are putting finishing touches on art submissions for their annual Creative Arts Therapy Exhibition.
The opening reception will take place from 6 – 8 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 22 in the gallery space at Oglebay Institute’s Towngate Theatre, located at 2118 Market St.
This annual exhibition has been a running tradition since the Creative Arts Therapy Program at WLU was established and this is the third year it will take place at Towngate Theatre. Both undergraduate and graduate students participated in the exhibition.
“We are grateful that Towngate and the Oglebay Institute are so generous with their space,” said Terri Giller, who is the undergraduate Creative Arts Therapy instructor. “I see this as a great way for our students to connect with the community, highlight art therapy education and educate about the role art can play in healing.”
This exhibition includes work from undergraduate and graduate students. Artwork in the exhibition includes pieces created in studio arts classes as well as art therapy specific assignments.
Students exhibiting their work include Natalie Alderman, Katelyn Bailer, Rosaleah Brill, Michael Cook, Jewell Cox, Elizabeth Eames, Juliana Haug, Manuela Hoffmann, Creed Kidney, Dakota Lish, Mykaela McLamar, Taylor Nelson, Angelica Rogers, Jessica Snow, Sierra Stevens, Liz Swiger, Megan Teagarden, Em Williams and Erin Yakesh.
Creative Arts Therapy major Angelica Rogers commented, “Art making for me is a way to express myself. A lot of times what my words fail to say, my art speaks.” Rogers is from Wellsville, Ohio and is a sophomore residential student.
“Especially during the past two years, students have recognized the need for art making and how it has been a way to process, essentially, a collective trauma; as you will see some pretty expressive art responses to their experiences in this exhibition,” Giller observed.
“For me art has a way of tapping into my inner needs. Sometimes when I don’t know how to express myself in words or don’t want to, art allows me to process what I need to express in another way, creatively,” shared Manuela Hoffmann of Wheeling, a commuter student.
“It brings me satisfaction and peace to be in that safe space. In this place I feel in flow with meeting my needs. Sometimes art is just the process of practice and having fun. Sometimes art helps me express emotions. Art is a daily practice for me. I always enjoy the process. For me it is an act of self-love.”
Art Therapy is a mental health profession that uses art media and the creative process to explore feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety, and increase self-esteem.
Art therapists are master-level clinicians who work with people of all ages with various abilities and disabilities. Guided by ethical standards and scope of practice, their education and supervised training prepares them for culturally proficient work with diverse populations in a variety of settings, according to Giller.
In addition to the Creative Arts Therapy undergraduate program, West Liberty University is the only public university in West Virginia to offer a graduate degree in Art Therapy and Counseling.
The degree is one of the many programs offered in the College of Liberal and Creative Arts. For more information, please contact Program Director Dr. Susan Ridley, susan.ridley@westliberty.edu or click here.