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FSU Department of Art Education Summer Newsletter

Published September 9, 2019
Dr. Antonio Cuyler and colleagues.

Dr. Antonio Cuyler and colleagues.

Summer may be a respite for some, but the FSU Department of Art Education had a summer as busy and exciting as the rest of the academic year. This newsletter outlines the research and travels of many of our department’s faculty and doctoral students during the summer semester. As we roll into the fall semester, please enjoy this look back at the summer accomplishments of FSU’s Department of Art Education.

Doctoral Student and Adjunct, Debbie Gerardi, presented her research at Disability and Disciplines: International Conference on Educational, Cultural, and Disability Studies at Liverpool Hope University in Liverpool, England.

Dr. Nancy Gerber

Dr. Nancy Gerber at the Inaugural Art Therapy Practice and Research Conference.

Doctoral Students and Adjuncts, Elise Kieffer and Brad Lister, both received emerging scholar awards at the Fourteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society held at the Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon in Lisbon, Portugal on June 19-21.

Visiting scholar in the Art Therapy Program, Dr. Nancy Gerber, presented her research entitled Arts based research approaches to studying mechanisms of change in the Creative Arts Therapies at the Inaugural Art Therapy Practice and Research Conference in London, England on July 11-13. Her presentation focused on a preliminary qualitative research project studying the dialectic, relational, and arts-based interactive mechanisms that cause change in the creative arts therapies process.

The research was co-authored by Karolina Bryl, Ph.D, Carol Ann Blank, Ph.D, and Noah Potvin, Ph.D. Using a deductive thematic analytic approach, the researchers identified three primary dynamic and interactive broad constructs that together, with more specific modifying themes, might account for and describe change within the creative arts therapies. These broad dynamic interactive themes are ruptures, resolutions, and transformation; relationship and intersubjectivity; and arts-based expressive processes.

Dr. Barbara Parker-Bell

Dr. Barbara Parker-Bell

Director of the FSU Art Therapy Program, Dr. Barbara Parker-Bell, presented her research entitled Russian Art Therapy and Mental Health Care: Transformation and Training, with her Russian co-presenter Dr. Natalia Nazarova at the International Art Therapy Practice/Research Conference on July 11th, 2019 in London, UK. This presentation was based on Dr. Parker-Bell’s Fulbright teaching and research experiences in the Russian Federation and ongoing collaborative exchanges with Dr. Nazarova and other Russian art therapists. Additionally, Dr. Parker-Bell also presented at the Fourth Summer Arts Therapies Forum/Conference Arts Therapy and Arts Pedagogy: New Possibilities for Health-Promotion, Supporting and Developing Human Resources in Gryazi, Lipetskaya Region, Russian Federation. She presented the keynote on July 22, 2019 titled Fostering Resilience in Youth: Art Therapy Strategies & Interventions and taught a pre-conference course on July 21, 2019 and a workshop on July 22,2019 both titled Expanding the Art Therapist’s Creative Palette: Digital Art Applications.

Drs. Pat Villeneuve and Ann Rowson presented at the American Alliance of Museums Conference in New Orleans mid-May and hosted an alum gathering while there. Dr. Villeneuve’s article, Considering Competing Values in Art Museum Exhibition Curation, came out in June in Stedelijk Studies, a Dutch journal that publishes high-quality peer-reviewed academic research for international audiences of (upcoming) art professionals and those with an interest in art theory and history.

Dr. Ann Rowson Love, W. James Burns, and Dr. Pat Villeneuve

Dr. Ann Rowson Love, W. James Burns (Executive Director of the Arizona Historical Society, and Dr. Pat Villeneuve.

Dr. Antonio Cuyler presented his research entitled Using the Creative Justice Procedural model to Measure Progress on Access, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (ADEI) in the U. S. Cultural Sector at the Brokering Intercultural Exchange Network (BIEN) in Künzelsau, Germany in May. He also presented a paper co-authored with colleagues from the U. K. entitled An International Survey of the Motivations and Experiences of Arts Management Graduates at the International Association of Arts and Cultural Management (AIMAC) conference in Venice, Italy.

Dr. Dave Gussak presented his paper Art Therapy with the Imprisoned: Re-Creating Identity at the Second International Summit on Child Abuse: Screening, Detection, and Assessments Conference hosted by the Creative Arts Therapies Research Center from the University of Haifa in Haifa, Israel in July. Drawn from his most recent book published by Routledge, his presentation focused on examining the benefits of art and art therapy within prison settings through the lenses of social interactionism and labeling theory.

Alumna of the Art Therapy program and research assistant, Meg Beerse, presented her research at the Inaugural International Art Therapy Conference in London, UK. She presented on the most recent findings of research on college student anxiety and stress, and proactive mental health strategies for addressing it. Her research is coauthored with Dr. Theresa Van Lith. Their research concurrently evaluated the feasibility of delivering Mindfulness-Based Art Therapy (MBAT) interventions over an online platform and the psychophysiological outcomes of art-making vs. MBAT.

Looking back at the summer semester, our faculty and doctoral students had some exciting opportunities to present their research to the field. As we delve into the fall, we look forward to a lively semester filled with learning and continued research.