Art Therapy Lab

03/25/2026

A quick equation I’ve been thinking about lately:

community + the arts + creative arts therapy = collective healing

Creativity for community wellbeing requires everyone, we all fit into the equation somehow.

Where do you see yourself in this?
What would you add or shift?

Are you in the arts, art therapies, research, public health, education, community work, or somewhere in between?

03/24/2026

Our next Paris Collage Collective Virtual Studio is happening this Sunday, March 29th!

Join us for a shared virtual studio space centered on collage, reflection, and creative process. Centered on collage, reflection, and creative process, this session invites you to slow down, explore uncertainty, and engage with making in a supportive, community-based environment.

Each workshop is designed and facilitated in collaboration with graduate art therapists-in-training from the School of Visual Arts NYC Art Therapy Program ( ), led by Art Therapist and ATL Founder Julia Volonts, (.volonts) for the PCC () community.

Details:
Sunday, March 29 | 11:00 EST / 17:00 CET
Free to attend | Limited space
No prior art experience required!

Register via link in bio or email hellp@arttherapy-lab.com

03/20/2026

Transpersonal art therapist Valerie Ogorodnyk reflects on her work creating accessible, culturally familiar spaces for Ukrainian women in Melbourne, Australia.

Through her practice, Active Kreative, and the KOLO project, Valerie facilitates Creative Circle sessions and offers group spaces where women can express emotions, rebuild a sense of belonging, and find moments of stability while navigating life in a new country.

Learn more about Valerie and her work:
www.activekreative.com /

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This post is part of our creative arts therapist stories series for Creative Arts Therapies Week 2026. We’re sharing reflections from creative arts therapists working in community spaces around the world.

More to come!

03/17/2026

Final days to apply — Applications for the 2026 Art Therapy Lab International Residency close this Sunday, March 22.

Each year, we gather a small international cohort in Kuldīga, Latvia at Studija art space () for an curated program of place-based, community-centered work grounded in art therapy, contemporary art, and interdisciplinary exchange.

The 2026 theme, Roots as Foundations, invites reflection on land, memory, and the ecosystems that hold us.

We look forward to welcoming the next group.

Link in bio or learn more and apply:
www.arttherapy-lab.com/residency

03/16/2026

Creative Arts Therapies Week (March 15–21) celebrates the role of creative arts therapists in supporting mental health, creative expression, and community wellbeing.

Creative arts therapists include professionals trained in art therapy, music therapy, drama therapy, dance/movement therapy, poetry therapy, and psychodrama. Their work integrates the arts with psychological theory and therapeutic practice across a wide range of clinical, community, and interdisciplinary settings.

At Art Therapy Lab, we explore community-based practice at the intersection of art therapy, arts in health, and interdisciplinary collaboration. This week, we invited creative arts therapists working in community spaces to share reflections from their practice.

Throughout the week, we will be sharing a selection of these reflections sent to us from therapists around the world, highlighting the many ways art therapy supports connection, participation, and care in community contexts.

Thank you to everyone who contributed their stories!

03/16/2026

Creative Arts Therapies Week (March 15–21) celebrates the important role of creative arts therapists in supporting mental health, creative expression, and community wellbeing.

Creative arts therapists include professionals trained in art therapy, music therapy, drama therapy, dance/movement therapy, poetry therapy, and psychodrama. Their work integrates the arts with psychological theory and therapeutic practice across a wide range of clinical, community, and interdisciplinary settings.

At Art Therapy Lab, we explore community-based practice at the intersection of art therapy, arts in health, and interdisciplinary collaboration. This week, we invited creative arts therapists working in community spaces to share reflections from their practice.

Throughout the week, we’ll be sharing a selection of responses we received from therapists around the world, highlighting the many ways art therapy supports connection, participation, and care in community contexts.

Thank you to everyone who sent us their stories!

02/26/2026

“An inclusive and wholesome space where anyone and everyone is welcome.”

A reflection shared by one of our participants during last Sunday’s Paris Collage Collective () virtual studio workshop — and a reminder of what this community continues to cultivate.

Led by Julia Volonts (.volonts) and facilitated by graduate art therapists-in-training from the School of Visual Arts ( ), we gathered with over 25 participants from around the world to create together.

Our theme, Art as a Mirror, opened space for self-reflection, presence, and creative inquiry.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for your openness to create, share, and explore through collage. Let’s keep creating together.

Here is a selection of collages shared from the experience. ✂️

Collages by: .collages, , , and more.

02/24/2026

🌱 OPEN CALL — Applications are officially open for the 2026 Art Therapy Lab International Residency happening July 12–17 in Kuldīga, Latvia.

We are returning to Studija Space for our third year with the theme: Roots as Foundations — exploring how land, memory, and community shape creative ecosystems.

This residency brings together a small international group of art therapists, artists, and other interdisciplinary practitioners for a week of immersive, site-responsive work.

Apply by March 22 — Link in bio or www.arttherapy-lab.com/residency

Organizers: Julia Volonts, Maija Rudovska

02/20/2026

02/18/2026

We’re back with the Art Therapy Lab x Paris Collage Collective Virtual Studio Series!

Join us this Sunday! Link in bio.

Each workshop is designed and facilitated in collaboration with Graduate Art Therapists-in-Training from the School of Visual Arts NYC Art Therapy Program: for the community.

10/07/2025

Finally sharing from the Art Therapy Lab International Residency in Latvia at Studija () this summer 🌿

Our 2025 cohort brought together art therapists, artists, art educators, and arts-in-health professionals from around the world, including Germany, Canada, Japan, Singapore, the United States, Latvia, Lithuania, Greece, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

This year’s program was inspired by gardening as both concept and practice. We collaborated with Latvian Landscape Architect and Urbanist Ilze Rukšane (), participants engaged in immersive outdoor experiences through natural dyeing workshops, forest therapy meditations, and nature walks that invited connection to plants, place, and community.

We are slowly sharing more reflections and images from this year’s residency and are grateful for the community that formed through this experience.

Special 🫶🏻 to our residency co-organizer Maija Rudovska (), independent curator and founder of Studija, for her continued commitment to exploring the intersections of art and well-being with us.

Additional gratitude to Edgars () and Annija () for their support on our team this year, and to Annemarie () for thoughtful preparation and organization.

ATL founder and co-organizer Julia Volonts (.volonts) will be presenting this week at the American Art Therapy Association Conference on the design and outcomes of our 2024 pilot year.

More to come 💐

10/03/2025

Welcome to Art Therapy Lab, we are glad you’re here.

Art Therapy Lab connects people worldwide to experience how art heals. We are a space for those with an interest in art and a curiosity for self-growth.

For those who are new, welcome.
For those who have been with us, we have missed you.

Over the past months, we have been busy with the residency, brainstorming, and practicing self-care, and now we are ready to be back.

We wanted to say hello and reintroduce who we are and how Art Therapy Lab continues to grow.

Our work focuses on:
• Community-based practice
• Interdisciplinary collaboration
• Accessible programming

… at the intersections of art therapy and arts in health.

Since our first virtual workshop in 2021, Art Therapy Lab has grown into a small, independent platform offering:
• Virtual groups and workshops
• A summer residency in Latvia
• Mentorship opportunities for those exploring art therapy and arts in health

Founded and directed by .volonts, a licensed and board-certified art therapist and educator based between the U.S. and Europe, Art Therapy Lab is evolving its research identity into a space of dialogue and collaboration between art therapy and the. broader arts in health movement, exploring how both fields can work together to support ethical and socially responsible community care.

As we move forward, we hope to connect more deeply with our existing community and continue building an international network curious about how art heals and how we can grow together.

Join our community of creative self-explorers from over 45 countries by signing up for our newsletter with updates and upcoming opportunities.

Sign up via the link in bio. 💐