“We did it, y’all! We passed the Senate and the House… and, now, the Governor has signed our bill. We now have an Art Therapy License in Tennessee!!” These words landed in email boxes just a few weeks ago to our fellow art therapists, supporters, colleagues, family, and friends. Be assured, color text was involved and a celebratory confetti gif, as this headline was over six years in the making and the result of a road filled with twists and turns, cliffs and avalanches.

Now, we’re here to support YOU! Whether you have just started with advocacy and legislative efforts in your own state or you have been at it for a while, we hope some of our experiences and lessons learned along the way will help energize and inspire you to keep doing the incredible work you’re doing.

Thank you to all who submitted a conference proposal this year. All authors will be notified of the program decisions by May 21. We continue to monitor the status of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions for holding in-person meetings at our conference location in San Diego. As always, the safety and well-being of our members, conference attendees and volunteers is our primary concern and focus. 

We are planning to decide about the in-person event before we open early bird registration on July 1, so that all attendees will know what type of event they are registering for. As we have communicated before, regardless of whether we are able to hold an in-person conference, we do plan to also offer a virtual conference. Congratulations to this year’s conference logo artist: We are so excited to share this year’s logo and introduce the artist, Kathleen Fogel-Richmond, MA, MFT, ATR.

Be sure to reserve your seat and join us on Saturday, May 22 at 2 p.m. Eastern Time for a virtual learning offering, which includes artmaking and will provide attendees with two credits of continuing education. This new virtual session, Exploring Art Therapy Assumptions through the Lens of Neuroscience, will be presented by Christianne Strang, PhD, ATR-BC, CEDCAT-S.

We are pleased to share that the article, “Working around the border: Shared experiences of art therapists working with families impacted by immigration and political realities in Mexico and the United States” was recently published in the Journal of Community Psychology. Authors Einat Metzl, PhD, ATR-BC, RYT, and Ana-Laura Treviño, MFT were the recipients of a 2018 AATA Seed Grant for Clinical Art Therapy Research. Applications for the 2021 seed grants are open through June 15th. Find the details here!

Although the pandemic brought mass tragedy, it also proved the various ways in which we can offer support. Telehealth presents a unique option for people who are not able to leave their home and it is my hope that the creative steps we all took to provide care for our clients is the beginning of more accessible health care models. 

Have you considered nominating a colleague, or even running for the board or nomination sub-committee, but need more time? We are pleased to announce that the deadline has been extended to Friday May 21, 2021 to submit your applications and nomination forms. We are also excited to announce that the 2021 Multicultural Award is extending its deadline to submit applications through Tuesday June 15, 2021!

Read below and find more information on MyAATA for opportunities in the following categories (listed by application deadline): Nominations (Extended through May 21) Multicultural (Extended through June 15), Honors (June 15), Research (June 15) and Governmental Affairs (June 15).

The American Art Therapy Association has opened the call for nominations for the Nancy Schoebel Distinguished Legislative Award. Nancy Schoebel was an inspiring art therapist and a vigorous advocate of art therapy at the local and national levels who made enduring contributions to the field through her advocacy work. The deadline for nominations is June 15, 2021. Please learn more about the selection criteria and nominate your colleague directly on MyAATA.

The AATA is currently accepting nominations for AATA members to serve two-year terms (2021-2023) in the following positions: president-elect, secretary, board of directors and nominating sub-committee. Please submit candidate applications and nomination forms by May 21, 2021. All forms, position descriptions, and more information can be found on MyAATA. 

Research awards and grants are offered annually to members of the AATA including two Rawley Silver Research Awards, Seed Grants for Clinical Art Therapy Research, and the Gladys Agell Award for Excellence in Research. Current and upcoming applications can be found at 2021 Award Schedule on MyAATA.

"As University of Wisconsin-River Falls art student, Dannie Esterline, began contemplating graduate school, the senior knew a professional piece of writing would be an integral part of the application process. After taking introduction to art therapy, Esterline spoke with professor, Ann Lawton, who explained that an independent study could provide a space to create that writing sample...'As somebody who's really interested in art therapy, I was really excited to do that,' said Esterline. 'I want to work with the LGBT community, so I was like, you know what, let’s explore this.'"

"Goethe-Institut Nigeria in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Suicide Research and Prevention Initiative and Art4Life has set up the project 'Art and Soul' to create awareness on mental health and art therapy."

"Local artist, educator, community activist and art therapist Melissa Raman Molitor recognized there was no collective artistic space for the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American community in Evanston — so she decided to create one. 'The ultimate goal is to create collective power through art and to claim space in the community using stories and cultural wisdom,' Molitor said. 'The purpose of the project is to center voices and stories of the local Asian and Pacific Islander diasporas.'"

"Marcus Jansen’s provocative new exhibit at The Baker Museum at Artis – Naples shines an unflinching light on the world and its conflicts and explores how they impact the human condition. 'Marcus Jansen: Two Decades of Relevance' is the artist’s first solo museum exhibit in Southwest Florida and his second solo museum exhibit ever in the United States. The exhibit continues through July 25."

"Working two jobs while attending classes to graduate this semester can be a heavy workload, but that does not stop integrative studies senior Kamille Newton from setting aside time to create art. Newton is studying psychology, rehabilitation and media arts, which she plans to use to go into art therapy. 'I’m really motivated to help people with mental health through creativity and through art,' Newton said."