Making Arrangements: The Curation of Grief in the Home Studio (Faire les arrangements : la conservation du deuil dans le studio à domicile)

Abstract

This is an article co-produced by the contributions of two authors from different professional disciplines—art psychotherapy and ceramics at Ulster University, Belfast School of Art (Northern Ireland). The purpose of this collaboration is to promote the attributes of material culture (materials of life that are meaningful and fulfill our needs) as a signature pedagogical practice within art therapy. Material culture contributes to art therapy in its appreciation of possessions as personal archaeology representing a life story, ancestral legacy, and an autobiographical archive. The influence of material culture upon art therapy training at Ulster University is transformative, in terms of interdisciplinary team teaching and creating with personal belongings. An appreciation of each person’s material culture supports relevancy within art therapy practice by encouraging service users (participants) to embrace their worldly goods as psychological and artistic possessions. In this acknowledgement of material culture, the art therapist is not the authority in terms of what materials to provide, but rather supports the use of home as studio and gallery. The following is an example of material culture’s contributions to art therapy teaching in relation to loss and commemoration.