I am delighted to be returning to the National Gallery of Ireland with a new series of free Cultural Art Therapy workshops for women who have experienced domestic abuse.
Running throughout January 2025, these workshops build on the Cultural Art Therapy work that began at the Gallery in 2023 through the No Words project, developed in collaboration with the Gallery Education Team and Saoirse Domestic Violence Services.
Since those early years of Cultural Art Therapy in RHA Gallery in 2019, it has become increasingly clear to me that museums and galleries have the potential to be much more than places we visit to look at art. When thoughtfully integrated with psychotherapeutic practice, they can become spaces that support reflection, connection and personal meaning-making.
This series continues that work.
Rather than seeing the museum as simply the location for a workshop, Cultural Art Therapy invites participants to engage with artworks, collections and the wider cultural environment as part of the therapeutic process. The conversations, reflections and creative responses that emerge are shaped not only by the art materials but also by the cultural space itself.
Importantly, this programme has been informed by the voices of women who previously took part in Cultural Art Therapy at the National Gallery. Their experiences helped shape both the structure and themes of these workshops, ensuring the programme continued to develop in response to the needs of participants.
Workshop Programme
Wednesday, 8th January – Clay
Wednesday, 15th January – Collage
Wednesday, 22nd January – Weaving
Wednesday, 29th January – Print
Time: 10.00am–12.00pm
Venue: National Gallery of Ireland, Merrion Square West, Dublin 2, D02 K303.
The workshops are free of charge, and each session can be attended independently, so you are welcome to join one, several or the full series.
No previous artistic experience is needed. The focus is not on artistic ability but on providing a safe, supported space to explore, reflect and engage creatively within the unique setting of the Gallery.
What is Cultural Art Therapy?
Cultural Art Therapy combines psychotherapeutic thinking with meaningful engagement in museums, galleries and heritage spaces. It creates opportunities for people to connect with artworks, objects and cultural narratives before moving into a facilitated creative process.
Within this framework, cultural spaces become active therapeutic environments. The collections, architecture and atmosphere offer another way for people to reflect on their own experiences, often making it easier to explore thoughts and feelings that can be difficult to put into words.
It is an approach that continues to evolve through practice, research and collaboration with cultural institutions, with the aim of making reflective, trauma-informed therapeutic experiences accessible in new and meaningful ways.
If you would like to attend, you can register using the sign-up link. Spaces are limited, and participants are welcome to attend one workshop or the full series.
If you have any questions, please get in touch via the contact page or email arttherapyireland@outlook.com.
I look forward to welcoming you to the Gallery.
Andrea Clare Plunkett
Art Psychotherapist
Founder of Cultural Art Therapy