In this Q&A, we talk with Keshet Zur, the facilitator of the Diploma in Expressive Arts for Professionals program, about their journey from childhood creativity to co-founding Expressive Arts Ireland. Keshet shares insights into how Expressive Arts supports personal growth and well-being, offering a space for creative exploration. We also discuss the diploma course designed to help professionals integrate these practices into their work.
Tell us a little about yourself and your interest in Expressive Arts.
As a child, like all children, creation was second nature – drawing, singing, playing, and letting my imagination guide me. At the age of 10, I began taking photos and learned how to develop and print images. Looking back at the photos I took as a child and a teen, I can see how photography supported me. I studied fine art and completed a degree in photography, and the summer after graduation, I started my M.A. in Expressive Arts Therapy, a three-year degree with the European Graduate School in Switzerland. I co-founded Expressive Arts Ireland in 2010, bringing expressive arts practice and theory to Ireland.
How can Expressive Arts help others?
The arts provide a safe container for the unknown to emerge, as we step away from linear thought patterns to discover something new. We suffer when we feel paralysed and hopeless, and when what we perceive as possible feels restricted. Working with the imagination creates unrestricted openings where we feel empowered and excited to move into action.
What is Expressive Arts? Development, process of the journey…
Expressive Arts emphasises the value of artistic expression and the creation of artworks as a means toward an alternative experience of the world. This experience can enlarge the field of play for those who find themselves stuck. The approach focuses on inner resources and our innate ability to improvise and shape from the materials available.
The focus is not on skill, but on heightening our sensitivity toward what we make, by tuning into our senses, entering a play-like state, and following our instincts. We access the multi-sensory potential of imagination by working in an intermodal way. We might start with a movement, which will lead to a painting, which will lead to a poem, each layer adding another dimension.
The right mix can improve overall well-being and contribute to lowering anxiety and stress, improving self-awareness and self-esteem, strengthening relationships, regulating behaviors, and advancing social skills.
Diploma course overview
The Diploma course is an extensive deep dive into the expressive arts approach. The learning will be experiential, with time allocated for linking theory to practice, exploring ways in which the approach can be used in participants’ professional practices and with the populations with whom they work.
Learners’ background expected, who can join this course
The Diploma in Expressive Arts for Professionals caters to professionals working in the fields of therapy, social work, nursing, teaching, youth work, and more. It is important to emphasise that completing the diploma does not qualify learners to become Expressive Arts therapists or facilitators. The intention of the diploma is to give learners tools and firsthand experience of how art can be helpful. It is geared toward professionals who can incorporate their learning into their working profession.
If you’d like to learn more, click here.
