Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow would like to invite you to Art and Freedom conference, which will take place on 12th April. Participation in the event is free. We regret that no further places are now available. All those who have pre-registered are welcome to attend.

The conference will be held in Polish.

The conference is dedicated to the relationship between art, the reception of art and the development of individual and collective freedom. The subject of the session will be a reflection on the mechanism of the creative process and the coming into contact with art, the role of education and the significance of art for the development of the individual and the whole of society. We will present the potential for an in-depth understanding of these phenomena, based on current psycho-analytical thinking derived from clinical practice.

Freedom is an important criterion both for artists and for those who create contemporary cultural institutions as well as for psychoanalysts. It is vital to reflect on the essence of freedom so as to be able to act effectively on behalf of those trying to overcome various limitations.

The conference is addressed to the staff of cultural institutions, teachers, art therapists, humanities and medicine students and all those interested in a psycho-analytical take on art.

Participation in the conference may be helpful in understanding the idiosyncrasy of the creative process, the reception of art, the importance of contact with art and also the praxis of conducting occupational sessions for various client groups, in particular those with disabilities.

The event will open with the vernissage of the exhibition presenting works created in the workshops at the Dr J. Babinski Specialist Hospital in Krakow. The exhibition has been co-organised by the 7B Psychiatric and Rehabilitation Ward of the Dr J. Babinski Hospital.

The conference is taking place as part of the international project The Need for Freedom, launched by the Council of Europe. The corollary of the project will be a Polish-and-English language publication.

Speakers

Lech Kalita – a certified psychoanalytical psychotherapist, psychologist and translator. He runs a clinical practice in Gdynia.
Ewa Modzelewska-Kossowska – a licensed psychoanalyst, training psycho-analyst at the Polish Psychoanalytical Society, children and young people’s psychoanalyst. She runs a clinical practice in Warsaw.
Bartosz Puk – a licensed psychoanalyst, supervisor and training therapist at the Polish Society for Psychoanalytical Psychotherapy. Psychiatrist and psychotherapist for the Personality Disorder and Neurosis Ward at the Dr J. Babinski Specialist Hospital in Krakow.
Elzbieta Sala –  manager of MOCAK Education Department, psychologist, psychotherapist.

Additional information

Since 2011, the MOCAK Education Department has conducted a few hundred educational projects intended for various target groups, including patients undergoing psychiatric training, adults with autism, young people educated in special schools and participants in occupational therapy workshops. As part of long-term projects we have been working closely with institutions including the 7B Psychiatric and Rehabilitation Ward of the Dr J. Babinski Hospital, the Community of Hope Foundation and the Association for the Development of Psychiatry and Care in the Community.

> via MOCAK