Art therapy in diverse and stressed communities in inner city Johannesburg Case vignettes from the Uhambo literacy programme
Main Article Content
Keywords
Open studio, multimodal pedagogies, literacy, community art counselling, storytelling, art group therapy
Abstract
This article is about the Uhambo literacy programme and the application of multimodal pedagogies in an art therapy ‘open studio’ after-school programme. Low literacy levels were identified by Lefika La Phodiso Community Art Counselling and Training (Lefika) – an arts therapy organisation serving at-risk children from Johannesburg’s inner city, as well as other communities through the application of community art counsellors after their training. A literacy programme, Uhambo, was developed to support the aim of improving literacy among the children attending Lefika’s after-school programme. Lefika’s open studio provides a therapeutic and safe space for children from Johannesburg’s inner city. The Uhambo programme incorporates elements of the open studio, offering a focused integration of visual and verbal literacy. The two presented case vignettes from the programme explore how the groups were both therapeutic and educational, addressing emotional growth and improved literacy and learning using attachment theories and storytelling as frameworks. Drawing on attachment theories in psychodynamic literature, the article shows how adaptive art therapy programmes can give children agency to make meaning, increase confidence and pleasure in their artmaking and storytelling as well as improving learning outcomes, building resilience and creativity.
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References
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Shand, K. (2023). Transformational moments at the intersection of art therapy and multimodal pedagogies: Case vignettes from the Uhambo literacy programme. Master’s thesis, University of Johannesburg.
Stein P. (2003a). Rights, representation and resources: Multimodal communication in south african classrooms. Doctoral dissertation, University of London, London.
Stein, P. (2003b). The Olifantsvlei Fresh Stories Project: multimodality, creativity and fixing in the Semiotic Chain. In C. Jewitt and G. Kress (Eds), Ultimodal literacy. Peter Lang.
Stein, P. (2008). Multimodal pedagogies in diverse classrooms: Representation, rights and resources. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203935804
Stein, P. & Newfield, D. (2003). Recovering the future: multimodal pedagogies and the making of culture in South African classrooms. International Journal of Learning, 10, 2841–2850.
Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The body keeps the score: Mind, brain and body in the transformation of trauma. Penguin.
Waters, T. (2010). The use of therapeutics storywriting to support pupils with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties. Doctoral dissertation, University of Southampton; University of Chichester.
Winnicott, D.W. (2005). Playing and reality. Routledge.
Atlas, M. (2009). Experiencing displacement: Using art therapy to address xenophobia in South Africa. Development 52(4), 531–536. https://doi.org/10.1057/dev.2009.74.
Barnes, B., Ernst, S., & Hyde, K. (2017). An introduction to groupwork: A group-analytic perspective. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Berman, H. (2011). The development and practice of art therapy as ‘community art counselling’ in South Africa. Art Therapy Online, 2(2). Retrieved 10 April 2022 from https://journals.gold.ac.uk/index.php/atol/article/view/285.
Berman, H. (2012). Community art counselling: Liberating the life force in a traumatized South Africa. Doctoral dissertation, University of Hertfordshire.
Berman, H. & Nsenga, H. (2016). The working body of knowledge series: Opening bodies. Cactus Publishing on behalf of Lefika La Phodiso Publishing.
Berman, H. (2017). Finding places and spaces for recognition: Applied art therapy training and practice in the mitigation against unthinking acts of violence. Art Therapy Online, 8(1). Retrieved 10 April 2022 from http://journals.gold.ac.uk/index.php/atol/article/view/420.
Berman, H. (2018). Redressing social injustice: Transcending and transforming the borders of art therapy training in South Africa. In A Di Maria (Ed.), Exploring ethical dilemmas in art therapy training in South Africa: 50 clinicians from 20 countries share their stories. Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315545493-12
Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss: Volume 1, Attachment. Tavistock Institute of Human Relations.
BusinessTech. (2017, December 5). 80% of Grade 4 kids in SA can’t read. BusinessTech. Retrieved 2 April 2022 from https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/214805/80-of-grade-4-kids-in-sa-cant-read/.
Colin, J.D. (1984). Bion’s “containing” and Winnicott’s “holding” in the context of the troupe matrix. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 34(2), 201–213. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207284.1984.11491374
Davis, R. & O’Regan, V. (2021, August 30). Covid has turned South African’s schooling crisis into a ticking time bomb. Daily Maverick. Retrieved 4 April 2022 from https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-08-30-covid-has-turned-south-africas-schooling-crisis-into-a-ticking-time-bomb/.
Foulkes, S.H. & Anthony, E.J. (2003). Group-analytic psychotherapy: Method and principles. Karnac Classics.
Gorman-Smith, D., Henry, D.B. & Tolan, P.H. (2004). Exposure to community violence and violence perpetration: The protective effects of family functioning. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 33(3), 439–449. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp3303_2
Haen, C & Weil, M. (2010). Group therapy on the edge: Adolescence, creativity, and group work. Group, 34(1), 37–52. https://doi.org/10.1353/grp.2010.0038
Herman, J.L. (2015). Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence—from domestic abuse to political terror. Basic Books.
Kline, M. (2020). Brain-changing strategies to trauma-proof our schools: A heart-centered movement for wiring well-being. North Atlantic Books.
Kress, G. (2000). Multimodality. In B. Cope and M. Kalantzis (Eds), Multiliteracies: Literacy Learning and the Design of Social Futures (pp. 162–202). Routledge.
Kress, G. (2010). Multimodality: A social semiotic approach to communication. Routledge.
Lu, L. & Yuen, F. (2012). Journey women: Art therapy in a decolonising framework of practice. Arts in psychotherapy, 39(3), 192–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2011.12.007
Metelerkamp, T. (2022a, February 7). Education, business and policy leaders weight in on how to tackle SA’s reading crisis. Daily Maverick. Retrieved 4 April 2022 from https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-02-07-education-business-and-policy-leaders-weigh-in-on-how-to-tackle-sas-reading-crisis/.
Metelerkamp, T. (2022b, March 21). South African needs a national education strategy to tackle the school dropout crisis. Retrieved 4 April 2022 from https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-03-21-south-africa-needs-a-national-education-strategy-to-tackle-the-school-dropout-crisis/.
Moula, Z. (2021). “I didn’t know I have the capacity to be creative”: Children’s experiences of how creativity promoted their sense of well-being. A pilot randomised controlled study in school arts therapies. Public Health 197, 19–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2021.06.004
Music, G. (2017). Nurturing natures: Attachment and children’s emotional, sociocultural and brain development. Routledge.
Ndoda, K. (2023, 19 June). When art imitates life — lessons from Yizo Yizo for South Africa’s literacy crisis. Daily Maverick. Retrieved 4 April 2022 from https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-06-19-when-art-imitates-life-lessons-from-yizo-yizo-for-south-africas-literacy-crisis/.
O’Hagan, V. (2021, December 30). Experts ring the warning bells over a mental health crisis among South African’s children during the pandemic. Daily Maverick. Retrieved 24 March 2022 from https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-12-30-experts-ring-the-warning-bells-over-a-mental-health-crisis-among-south-africans-children-during-the-pandemic/.
Plumb, JL, Bush KA & Kersevich SE. (2016). Trauma-sensitive schools: An evidence-based approach. School Social Work Journal, 40(2), 37–60.
Shand, K. (2023). Transformational moments at the intersection of art therapy and multimodal pedagogies: Case vignettes from the Uhambo literacy programme. Master’s thesis, University of Johannesburg.
Stein P. (2003a). Rights, representation and resources: Multimodal communication in south african classrooms. Doctoral dissertation, University of London, London.
Stein, P. (2003b). The Olifantsvlei Fresh Stories Project: multimodality, creativity and fixing in the Semiotic Chain. In C. Jewitt and G. Kress (Eds), Ultimodal literacy. Peter Lang.
Stein, P. (2008). Multimodal pedagogies in diverse classrooms: Representation, rights and resources. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203935804
Stein, P. & Newfield, D. (2003). Recovering the future: multimodal pedagogies and the making of culture in South African classrooms. International Journal of Learning, 10, 2841–2850.
Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The body keeps the score: Mind, brain and body in the transformation of trauma. Penguin.
Waters, T. (2010). The use of therapeutics storywriting to support pupils with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties. Doctoral dissertation, University of Southampton; University of Chichester.
Winnicott, D.W. (2005). Playing and reality. Routledge.
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Published
Jul 13, 2023
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Art therapy in diverse and stressed communities in inner city Johannesburg: Case vignettes from the Uhambo literacy programme. (2023). South African Journal of Arts Therapies, 1(1), 182-202. https://doi.org/10.36615/sajat.v1i1.2495
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How to Cite
Art therapy in diverse and stressed communities in inner city Johannesburg: Case vignettes from the Uhambo literacy programme. (2023). South African Journal of Arts Therapies, 1(1), 182-202. https://doi.org/10.36615/sajat.v1i1.2495