Tree of Life- FREE ART/CREATIVE EXPRESSION SESSION
Event date: -
Event type: Single day (a day or less)
On Friday May 03, 2019 Unison Health and Community Servies will be hosting a full day creative expressions class called the Tree of Life at the Jane Street Hub.
The Tree of Life is an approach rooted in narrative therapy practices. It invites people who have experienced difficult times to explore various aspects of their lives from a place of strength. It was first developed by Ncazelo Ncube and David Denborough for their work with children affected by HIV/AIDS in southern Africa. The approach has since been adapted for different community groups using other metaphors, such as the Fan of Life with a Chinese community and the Kite of Life with Tamil community in Toronto. (See https://dulwichcentre.com.au/the-tree-of-life/)
Participants are invited to create an image of a tree, reflecting on the following elements:
Roots: Where the person is from (the country, city, or community that the person calls home), the values and traditions that provide a sense of grounding, where these values/traditions come from (e.g. how are they learned? Songs from childhood, celebrations, religious observations)
- Ground: Daily activities that sustain the person
- Trunk: The person's knowledge and skills that support everyday living
- Branches: The hopes and aims for one's directions in life (short or longer term)
- Leaves: People, animals and communities that support the person
- Fruits: Things that the person has achieved or steps that the person has taken towards goals
The morning part of the workshop will be dedicated to the first three elements. In the afternoon participants will work on the other three, plus time for participants to share what they have created, and a "forest of life" exercise in which participants are invited to exchange words of encouragement through a group art activity, the products of which they can act as reminders of the support from this gathering in the workshop.
Between working on each element of the tree, facilitator will lead a 5-10 minutes body-based/breathing/gentle movement exercise that aims to support relaxation, body-mind connection and an embodied reflection or meditation on each of the element of the tree.
Program Details
Friday May 03, 2019
10:00 am-4:00 pm
1541 Jane Street
Light lunch will be provided
Call 416-645-7575 EXT 2050 to register