Interview with Przemek Staroń about Łukasz Siatkowski and art therapy for people with special needs (1/2)
Wed, 03/04/2013
Przemysław (Przemek) S. Staroń is convinced that Art therapy should become an integral part of workshops for people with special needs. incluD-ed invited him to speak about his friend Łukasz Siatkowski, a Master student and graphic designer who completely changed his view on people with disabilities and about art therapy for people with special needs.
incluD-ed: Can you introduce yourself?
Przemek Staroń: My name is Przemysław Staroń. My educational background is in psychology and I also have a Masters degree in Cultural Studies. I work as a teacher, lecturer, coach and art therapist. I also constantly admire the world surrounding me.
incluD-ed: When and where did you get to know Łukasz Siatkowski (Luke)?
Przemek Staroń: It was when I started my second specialisation - Cultural Studies. It was kind of peculiar: Luke approached me and very straightforwardly invited me to visit him. Without giving it much thought I agreed. It wasn’t until later that I found out he’d sent me an earlier text with an invitation, but it got lost.
incluD-ed: What was your first impression of him?
Przemek Staroń: It must have been very positive, since I instantly said “yes”. The conversation with him only reassured me that I had made a good decision. He is a very intelligent, sharp person with a peculiar, abstract sense of humor - something I value very much.
incluD-ed: How do you feel about his art?
Przemek Staroń: I have been fascinated with his work since the beginning. It makes me feel anxiety and awe at the same time - something you can experience while gazing at the starlit sky. On an aesthetic level his works are very pleasing and every time I think about the fact that they were made by a person whose hands have a disability, I feel admiration and astonishment.
incluD-ed: What has changed for you since meeting him?
Przemek Staroń: I have completely changed my view on people with disabilities. I started exploring this world from a scientific perspective back in my second year - both practically and theoretically – but I was filled with many stereotypes. Luke changed that. He showed me that you can be in a wheelchair and live with your head held high, laugh at yourself and not be discouraged by anything. And, above all, create beautiful art that deserves to be appreciated.
“Art therapy should become an integral part of workshops for people with special needs.”
incluD-ed: You’re also an art therapist giving workshops about art and creativity. Can you tell us more about your work?
Przemek Staroń: I have been giving these workshops for several years, supporting myself with cultural media. This is such a broad topic, that I could write a book.
First of all - creative methods are a crucial element of all of my workshops, both for example at my school (Second Secondary School in Sopot - Boleslaw Chrobry), Universities of the Third Age and in the field of business (during my work as a coach in Jump, a company organising workshops, trainings, business creative arts workshops, relaxing workshops - created by Edyta Bonk - and "artecoaching" - method and name created by Agnieszka Nadstawna).
Secondly, I give workshops on art therapy, both for those who want to experience it for themselves and for those who want to learn the methods and later use them as tools. So for me, as you can see, art and creativity are methods and themes for entire meetings. I use everything during them - stories, legends, images, artistic objects, music, furniture, the whole space provided for workshops…
incluD-ed: Amongst the attendees of your workshops, are they a mix of people with and without disabilities? Or do you give workshops especially targeted at people with special needs?
Przemek Staroń: At the moment, Jump - in cooperation with the Association for Helping Disabled People in Sopot - is carrying out a series of workshops for disabled people and their caretakers. All of the methods mentioned earlier are very useful, because they are interesting, they teach through experience and they unlock a substance often hidden in verbal techniques.
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Read also the interview with Lukasz Siatkowski: ‘As far as art is concerned, there are no physical limitations.’ - Interview with Łukasz Siatkowski
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JUMP http://www.centrum-jump.pl/ // http://www.centrumprasowe.swps.pl/psychologia/mgr-przemyslaw-staron // https://www.facebook.com/centrum.jump
