some related events.

[Adam Blatner]

"Nina (Anin) Utigaard" <anin4creativity at yahoo.com> an expressive therapist, writes;
      Dear Colleagues,
 I'm sending this email to you be cause there are several events going on that I thought 
you'd like to be aware of. It's exciting to see how the arts really seem to be taking hold 
and honored as a powerful tool for personal and community health.  Below are a few things 
I've discovered that I'm really excited about and I want you to know about them as well.

 First Event: Last year I attended my first PTW (Peforming the World) conference and 
offered a workshop on Creative Aging thru Dramaplay with a colleague and had an incredible 
time.  IEATA really should be linking up with this organization as their whole philosphy 
is about using the arts to promote healthier communities: for teens, for children in the 
Amazon, for teens in Africa, etc. etc.  I attended incredbily moving and inspiring 
programs and met people from Brazil, Africa, England and some from the Bay Area that I 
didn't even know lived around here - each of them offering arts in some way that benefits 
our youth, elders, schools and on and on.  It was truly amazing. I plan on attending 
again. Please see Helen Able's note below about her own experience with the organization 
as well.

>From Helen: I would like to invite you to participate in Performing the World '08 (PTW) a 
conference/festival of the growing international performance movement that will be held in 
New York City from October 2-5, 2008. PTW is hosted by the East Side Institute, a 
non-profit international training center in new approaches to human development, learning 
and community building, and the All Stars Project, an innovative non-profit recognized
for its successful performance-based outside-of-school developmental programs for young 
people.

 I am a social worker and life coach with the Life Performance Coaching Center in San 
Francisco where we make use of some of the most exciting discoveries made by social 
therapy, including the critical role that performance plays in emotional, social and 
intellectual development.  I have attended several PTW's and presented at one on "Creative 
Aging". I have been thrilled and encouraged by seeing therapists, community activists, 
health and helping professionals, artists, youth workers and researchers from all over the 
world participating in activities and workshops that are helping to create, collaborate 
and change the world.

PTW is a truly special experience and promises to be even more so this year when, for the 
first time, the festivities will be held in New York City (at a cost of only $195 before 
August 1). New Yorkers are also opening up their homes to out-of-towners to both save on 
hotel costs and to incorporate the diversity of family and neighborhood in the experience 
of the weekend.

A general conference announcement and call for proposals can be accessed at 
www.performingtheworld.org, where you can also read more about past conference programs 
and participants.  The deadline for proposals is April 1st. Check it out .

 2nd Event:  I know this is late notice but I wanted you to know about an incredible event 
that I'm still trying to figure out how I could do this.  The neurologist and author 
Oliver Sacks is going to be speaking at the event as well.  On March 6 - 8th The Society 
for the Arts in HealthCare organization is co-hosting an event with the Vanderbilt 
University Medical Center, and The Museum of Modern Art in NYC. Dr. Sacks will be talking 
about Creativity and the Brain on Friday evening the 7th.  You can get more information 
about this event by going to try http://www.vanderbiltculturalenrichment.com/ or 
http://www.thesah.org/  and click on Events and then under that click Symposia  There will 
be workshops on Thursday, Friday and free entrance to the art museum with receipt of 
attendance to the event.

 3rd Event: In Vancouver, Canada, May 30th and 31st there be a conference titled: 
Creative Expression, Communication and Dementia & Mindscapes 2008.  This conference will 
be hosted by The Society for the Arts in Dementia Care and the Institute of Neurosciences, 
Mental Health and Addiction.  Shaun McNiff will be presenting along with several other 
people I have been reading about recently, who have done research and made some great 
contributions to the value and importance of the arts when working with elders and those 
dealing with various challenges.  If you work with Elders, want to see other ways of using 
the arts for healing, love Vancouver, and want hear how people are blending the arts and 
science, you should check this out.  The website is:  www.cecd-society.org/2008/dementia, 
then select conference to find out who/what is being presented.

 4th Event: Society for the Arts in HealthCare is again hosting the 19th annual 
International Conference: Embracing our Past, Shaping our Future: 21st Century 
innovations.  You can find out more about the conference which takes place April 16- 19th, 
2008 in Philadelphia, PA at website: www.theSAH.org.  There are lots of topics covered.

 5th: Anin will be presenting at the end of July at the 2008 International Symposium: 
Re-imagining Special Education (RiSE) through Arts Education & Arts Therapy. It will be 
happening in Austrailia and people from all
> over the world come together to share ideas and techniques using the arts in education 
> and therapy with children and adolscents.  The website is: 
> http://symposium.portphillip.vic.edu.au.  There are an incredible array of presentations 
> addressing all sorts of concerns using music therapy, arts therapy etc.  Very exciting.