Only two days before the next rigorous deadline for the
finalized TEDx talk materials, I had the honor to meet Ajit Matthew George, the
organizer of TEDx Wilmington. Having only a virtual contact online, and
transitioning into my stay in Wilmington, DE, Ajit and I managed to finally
find time in our schedules when I decided to combine worlds and invite him for
a welcome dinner as part of my two-month artist residency. It was an evening of
inspiring conversation and exchange with many professors and chairs of various
departments at the University of Delaware. I also received brief but incredibly
valuable feedback about my idea worth spreading.
It became clear that I am fortunate to be regularly
surrounded by experts in very unique and interesting fields related to art, art
therapy, psychology, anthropology, design, curation, cultural studies, women’s
studies and similar niche areas. I take it for granted that everyone
understands what art therapy is, and I honestly lost perspective as I am
constantly answering questions about the basic definition of the field. I was
craving depth in this sharing and got lost in developing a talk meant for a
much smaller group of interested people.
Ajit helped me to zoom out and see the need to develop the
message at a much more universal level, to define art therapy and to refine my
strengths and weaknesses based on the draft video I had sent in earlier.
In a very intensive and time-sensitive process of
restructuring, I completely reformatted my talk. I am grateful for this chance
to improve my communication of an even more important message to not underestimate art. I found myself embodying
the creativity I speak about through this latest round of changes.
I sit in a car somewhere between Delaware and Massachusetts
and I am so grateful that technology allows me to share this update which includes a new title
for my talk: Art as a Mirror.
The excitement continues, and what a journey it has been
already!
Images: from #MySankalpa daily art and affirmation series on Instagram: @sankalpajourneys