Art for Nourishing & Flourishing: Neuroaesthetics at Work

Format

Individual Presentation

Presenters

Gina H. Moore, ARTreach 180Follow

First Presenter's Institution

ARTreach 180

First Presenter’s Email Address

gmoore@crosswalkusa.org

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Gina Moore, LMSW: Having spent 24 years directing a successful high school theatre program, Gina Moore chose to leave traditional education in 2007 to develop and implement program curriculum for ARTreach 180, a therapeutic arts program born out of her expressive therapy work behind the razor wire with juvenile offenders. Now in its fifteenth year, ARTreach 180 has used the arts to help hundreds of teens process difficult emotions, build healthy relationships, cope with trauma, and reimagine their futures. Throughout her career in education, social work, and expressive therapy, Gina has seen firsthand the healing power of the arts to improve emotion regulation, conflict resolution, self-awareness, and empathy. Passionate about increasing mental health services in schools, she continues to train educators and youth development professionals with creative strategies to navigate adolescents from risk to resilience.

Strand #1

Head: Academic Achievement & Leadership

Strand #2

Health: Mental & Physical Health

Relevance

What better way to decompress and de-stress than to engage in the arts? In their newly released book Your Brain on Art, Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross make some bold statements: “We now have scientific proof that arts are essential to our very survival” and “Art is a way to connect your mind, body, and spirit and to support your health and wellness.” Art also builds social-emotional skills by improving self-awareness and communication skills. In consideration of the physical, mental, social, and emotional health of our students, there is no better topic to explore than the transformative power of creativity and the arts. This session will not only present the evidence, but also provide experiences to confirm that evidence in a very real and personal way.

Brief Program Description

Neuroaesthetics, formally recognized as a scientific discipline just twenty years ago, has revealed extensive data confirming what artists have known intrinsically for centuries: Art has a transformative power to help us heal and thrive. This interactive session will explore the mental, emotional, and physical benefits of creating art. Join us to experience it for yourself and leave equipped to facilitate the activities with your students.

Summary

This workshop is suitable for conference attendees with experience and/or interest in using creative modalities for training students to manage stress, cope with difficult emotions, strengthen social-emotional learning and facilitate resilience and overall wellness. The objectives of the session are as follows:

Participants in this workshop will be able to…

• Increase their understanding of neuroaesthetics by actively participating in the session’s activities.
• Facilitate new creative modalities with their students to help them decompress, clarify emotions, and promote health, wellness, and resilience.
• Fully invest themselves in the creative process in order to gain deeper therapeutic insight.

The session will combine the presentation of current research with interactive artistic creation and meaningful discussions both in small groups at their tables and in the full group. Participants will be given the opportunity to create art three times with three different mediums, followed by table talk, concentric circle discussions in pairs, and finally a gallery walk to view and respond to the artwork that has been created throughout the room. We will end with self-reflection, comments, Q & A, and more networking opportunities.

Concepts to be covered include a) Neuroaesthetics—definitions and principles; b) Therapeutic art vs. art therapy; c) Physical, emotional, and mental benefits of creating and responding to art; and d) Using simple art projects regularly as preventative and restorative measures with students.

The content of the workshop is applicable for all middle and high school programs and may also be adapted for older elementary students. Since participants will not only receive a written guide for each of the activities but also engage in the activities themselves throughout the session, they will leave fully equipped to implement the activities in their own programs should they choose to do so.

Evidence

Research indicates that our students are currently experiencing epidemic levels of mental and emotional distress. The CDC reports that violence at school has risen significantly post-pandemic among students 10 to 17 years old, and data from the Council on Criminal Justice indicates homicides among those 14 to 17 in some major cities have increased by as much as 39% compared to pre-COVID levels. According to Magsamen and Ross, for the first time since statistics have been measured, “mental illness is increasing at a faster rate than physical disease.”

Creating art has been shown to lower stress and anxiety levels (Stuckey & Nobel, 2010), as well as to produce changes in brain chemistry that can help regulate emotions and improve mood (Sandmire et al., 2012). Art activities challenge the brain by activating cognitive processes like planning, decision-making, problem-solving, and focus (Posner et al., 2008). Epidemiologist Daisy Fancourt has spent decades collecting data and tracking thousands of people from childhood to adulthood. Her conclusion is that the arts “have a profound effect on our mental and physical health, both on the prevention of problems and in managing and treating symptoms” (Magsamen & Ross, 2023). Overall, research indicates that making art impacts the brain, the body, and social-emotional connections, thus enhancing physical, mental, and emotional wellness.

As advocates for youth, we must be concerned for their physical and mental health. The information and activities in this session will give participants creative ways to help students restore and maintain wellness. All activities are well-aligned with trauma-informed theory and practice and may be widely implemented and adapted, using materials that are easily accessible.

SOURCES:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, August 24). School violence report.

Council on Criminal Justice. (2021). Youth homicide rates in 2021 largest increase in decades. https://counciloncj.org/impact-report-youth-homicides/

Magsamen, Susan & Ross, Ivy. (2023). Your Brain on Art. New York: Random House.

Posner, M.I., Rothbart, M.K., Sheese, B.E., & Kieras, J. (2008). How arts training influences cognition. Learning, Arts, and the Brain: The Dana Consortium Report on Arts and Cognition. New York: Dana Foundation.

Sandmire, D.A., Gorham, S.R., Rankin, N.E., & Grimm, D.R. (2012). The influence of art making on anxiety: A pilot study. Art Therapy, 29(2), 68-73.

Stuckey, H.L., & Nobel, J. (2010). The connection between art, healing, and public health: A review of current literature. American Journal of Public Health, 100(2), 254-263.

Learning Objective 1

Participants will be able to increase their understanding of neuroaesthetics by actively participating in the session.

Learning Objective 2

Participants will be able to facilitate new creative modalities with their students to help them decompress, clarify emotions, and promote health, wellness, and resilience.

Learning Objective 3

Participants will be able to facilitate new creative modalities with their students to help them decompress, clarify emotions, and promote health, wellness, and resilience.

Keyword Descriptors

Art, Art Therapy, Neuroaesthetics, Emotion Regulation, Decompress, Mental Health, Health & Wellness, Resilience

Presentation Year

2024

Start Date

3-4-2024 9:45 AM

End Date

3-4-2024 10:15 AM

Recommended Citation

Moore, Gina H., "Art for Nourishing & Flourishing: Neuroaesthetics at Work" (2024). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 3.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2024/2024/3