The art of healing

Creative insight

Meanwhile, M+ is bringing new meaning to Yayoi Kusama's striking, colorful oeuvre with its Expressive Arts Therapy Experiential Workshops, held in collaboration with the University of Hong Kong's (HKU's) Centre on Behavioral Health (CBH). The immersive sessions invite participants to express themselves through visual art, physical movement and creative writing. Inspiration is drawn from the Japanese artist's life philosophy and love of polka dots - as seen in the museum's current retrospective, Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now. M+ is also hosting Kusama-themed Family Day Art Workshops, suitable for families with small children.

Keri Ryan, M+'s lead curator of learning and interpretation, explains that expressive arts therapy provides the museum's audience a chance to "explore their feelings and connect to their inner self, apart from viewing the exhibition". The multimodal discipline combines creative writing, music, drama, visual arts and dance.

"Participants are guided by the therapists to explore their feelings, body and mind using different creative mediums in a safe and welcoming environment," Ryan explains. "We hope that Kusama's works and philosophy of life can become a powerful inspiration for participants to experience the healing aspects of art, and realize their own creativity through the art-making process."

Art therapy is in growing demand. According to the Hong Kong Expressive Arts Therapy Service Center, from May to July 2022 - while the fifth wave of COVID-19 was raging - the number of people approaching the charity for assistance increased by two to three times.

Stress levels and cases of depression soared along with infection numbers, says Julia Byrne, a local psychotherapist and art therapy pioneer who is also founding president of the Hong Kong Association of Art Therapists.

"In a modern, international city like Hong Kong, mental-health issues are still stigmatized, and topics related to mental illness are always shrouded in taboo, which hinders open communication within society," says CBH's director, Rainbow Ho Tin-hung, who is also the program director of HKU's Master of Expressive Arts Therapy. "We need to (speak up) ... to help destigmatize mental-health problems, so we can face them and take positive action to address them." Art therapy is an effective mode of treatment and has the added benefit of being nonpharmacological, she notes.