Art Therapy Lab

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Art Therapy Lab

Art Therapy Lab is an international studio-lab exploring community-based practice at the intersection of art therapy and related fields.

10/29/2026

🌱 Our Practitioner Stories return!

This month, we share thoughts from Portugal-based dance-movement therapist Tatiana Mladěnková (Allison Porch), who reflects on what drew her to art therapy, her work with adolescents, and the importance of presence, trust, and self-discovery through the creative process.

Thank you, Tatiana, for sharing your thoughtful reflections and experiences with us!
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This post is part of our ongoing series, Art, Care, and Community: Practitioner Stories, where we highlight reflections from practitioners working across community, collaborative, and interdisciplinary spaces.

Want to share your story? Link in bio.

10/28/2026

🌀 PLEASE COLLAGE TH!S BALTIMORE 🌀

We’re excited to collaborate with Vision House (Vision House) on a new monthly pop-up open studio in Baltimore!

Come make art, experiment with materials, and contribute to an evolving community collage mural that we’ll build on each month.

Starting Monday, November 2, 2026
Every first Monday of the month* | 6:30–8:30 PM
Vision House | 136 W. 25th St., Baltimore

Hosted by Helen Hofling (Helen Hofling), Baltimore-based artist and writer, and Julia Volonts (Julia Volonts, LCAT, ATR-BC®), founder of Art Therapy Lab.

All are welcome. Materials provided. Just stop by!

We can’t wait to make art with you. 🌱
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*This monthly open studio runs from November 2026 through May 2027 as part of ATL’s public programs.

10/27/2026

“Yesterday’s collage workshop was such a beautiful experience. The atmosphere felt warm, inspiring, and creatively freeing. I loved the space to explore, experiment, and connect through art.”

A post-workshop reflection shared by one of our participants during Sunday’s Paris Collage Collective (Paris Collage Collective) virtual studio workshop — and reminder of how art can create connection, no matter where you are in the world.

Led by Julia Volonts (Julia Volonts, LCAT, ATR-BC®) and facilitated by graduate art therapists-in-training from the School of Visual Arts (School of Visual Arts SVA MPS Art Therapy) we gathered with over 25 participants from around the world to create together.

Our theme, Holding Uncertainty, opened space for self-expression, reflective discussion, and creative processing.

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. ✂️

10/21/2026

🌱 The Life of a Seed: Exploring Nature Through Movement

What can we learn from nature’s cycles of breaking down, resting, changing, and growing again?

We are excited to welcome Lithuanian dance-movement therapist Jekaterina Lisovskaja (Jekaterina Lisovskaja ꩜ dance-movement therapist) for Art Therapy Lab’s first virtual movement workshop!

Inspired by an element of Japanese Butoh and a seed-based movement practice, this 75-minute experience invites us to explore our relationship with nature through movement, reflection, and creative expression.

Through individual movement and an art response, we will explore the metaphor of a seed and what natural cycles of change and growth might teach us about ourselves.

Workshop details:
Sunday, November 15, 2026
10:00–11:15 AM EST / 16:00–17:15 CET
Virtual | 75 minutes
$25 | Scholarship spots available

No prior movement experience needed. Join from your own space, wearing something comfortable and with room to move.

Register through the link in our bio or email [email protected]

Looking forward to moving and exploring together! 🌱

10/16/2026

Art Therapy Lab Intro: Virtual spaces as therapeutic ones. 🌱

The idea for Art Therapy Lab began during the pandemic, when founder and art therapist Julia Volonts (Julia Volonts, LCAT, ATR-BC®) shifted her practice online. At the time, many of her clients were experiencing anxiety, isolation, and a sense of turning inward while questioning how to stay connected to others.

This led us to explore how virtual spaces could connect people from around the world through shared art-making, and what might emerge collectively beyond individual clinical practice.

Art Therapy Lab was founded to create community-based art experiences, informed by art therapy ethics and grounded in interdisciplinary collaboration with artists, organizations, and other creative practitioners interested in socially engaged work that supports individual and collective wellbeing.

Over time, these spaces have welcomed practitioners interested in community-based approaches, alongside individuals seeking opportunities for creativity, connection, and shared experiences.

Virtual spaces have remained an important part of what we do. While our international residency in Latvia, in collaboration with Studija (Studija), has been our primary in-person gathering, our online studios and workshops continue to connect people across cities, countries, and time zones.

As ATL grows and we create more opportunities to gather locally, we’re excited to continue these virtual experiences too!

Coming up this fall:
October 25 — Paris Collage Collective Virtual Open Studio: Our ongoing virtual collage studio, bringing people together through shared art-making. (Paris Collage Collective)

November 15 — The Life of a Seed: Exploring Nature Through Movement: A virtual experiential workshop facilitated by Jekaterina Lisovskaja (Jekaterina Lisovskaja ꩜ dance-movement therapist).

Registration for both opens Monday, October 19!

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones. 🌱

10/16/2026

Art Therapy Lab Intro: Virtual spaces as therapeutic ones. 🌱

The idea for Art Therapy Lab began during the pandemic, when founder and art therapist Julia Volonts (Julia Volonts, LCAT, ATR-BC®) shifted her practice online. At the time, many of her clients were experiencing anxiety, isolation, and a sense of turning inward while questioning how to stay connected to others.

This led us to explore how virtual spaces could connect people from around the world through shared art-making, and what might emerge collectively beyond individual clinical practice.

Art Therapy Lab was founded to create community-based art experiences, informed by art therapy ethics and grounded in interdisciplinary collaboration with artists, organizations, and other creative practitioners interested in socially engaged work that supports individual and collective wellbeing.

Over time, these spaces have welcomed practitioners interested in community-based approaches, alongside individuals seeking opportunities for creativity, connection, and shared experiences.

Virtual spaces have remained an important part of what we do. While our international residency in Latvia, in collaboration with Studija (Studija), has been our primary in-person gathering, our online studios and workshops continue to connect people across cities, countries, and time zones.

As ATL grows and we create more opportunities to gather locally, we’re excited to continue these virtual experiences too!

Coming up this fall:
October 25 — Paris Collage Collective Virtual Open Studio
Our ongoing virtual collage studio, bringing people together through shared art-making. (Paris Collage Collective)

November 15 — The Life of a Seed: Exploring Nature Through Movement
A virtual experiential workshop facilitated by Jekaterina Lisovskaja (Jekaterina Lisovskaja ꩜ dance-movement therapist).

Registration for both opens Monday, October 19!

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones. 🌱

10/13/2026

What we create together extends beyond the places we gather.

As we think with our collaborator Studija (Studija) about what’s ahead for the Art Therapy Lab International Residency, we’re revisiting reflections from this summer in Kuldīga, Latvia, and the temporary ecosystem that emerged through our time together.

As organizers, we bring together people, places, and opportunities for creative exploration. But what unfolds is shaped by the cohort, our guest facilitators, the relationships that form, and the natural environment as a co-facilitator.

While our time together in Kuldīga was temporary, the connections, exchanges, and experiences continue beyond the residency itself, extending across places and into our lives and practices.

As we consider what comes next, here are a few reflections from our 2026 cohort in response to the question: What would you tell someone curious about participating in this kind of residency?

We are missing you all! More reflections to come. 🌱

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Organizers:
Maija R (of Studija)
Julia Volonts, LCAT, ATR-BC® (of Art Therapy Lab)

2026 Program —
Facilitators:
Ilze Ruksane
Mor Keshet • Eco Art Therapy (MPS, LCAT)
Ina Celitane
Ilga Leimanis

Community Partners & Supporters:
Kaļķu kvartāls
VV Foundation
Duna Brewery
DZIIVA CACAO
Celms Maize
Etíde

10/09/2026

WE’RE BACK! 🌱

Hello to all the new people here, and to those who have been with us for a while, we’ve missed you!

After a busy summer and start to fall, we are excited to reconnect and share some upcoming experiences at Art Therapy Lab.

As a small, independently run platform, much of what we do takes shape slowly through relationships, collaborations, and a lot of behind-the-scenes work. This means we have plenty to catch you up on, including ongoing reflections from our summer international residency in Latvia at Studija (Studija), the return of Practitioner Stories, new collaborations, and other Art Therapy Lab things.

But first, we just wanted to say hello and share these upcoming dates:

October 25: Paris Collage Collective Virtual Open Studio
Our PCC virtual collage studio returns, connecting people around the world through shared artmaking. (Paris Collage Collective)

November 2: Please Collage Th!s: Baltimore
A new monthly IRL open studio in collaboration with Vision House (Vision House)

November 15: The Life of a Seed: Exploring Nature Through Movement
A virtual movement workshop with Lithuanian dance-movement therapist Jekaterina Lisovskaja. (Jekaterina Lisovskaja ꩜ dance-movement therapist)

Swipe 👉🏻 for more info. Registration details and further updates will be shared soon. For questions or to join a waitlist, email [email protected].

Looking forward to reconnecting and continuing to create together. 🪴

07/19/2026

Interdisciplinary ecosystems are built through collaboration.

The 2026 Art Therapy Lab International Residency would not have been possible without the support of our local community in Kuldīga.

We extend our thanks to this year’s community partners for welcoming our international cohort, sharing your spaces, knowledge, and hospitality, and helping create the conditions for connection, creativity, and belonging.

Thank you to:

🌿 Kaļķu Kvartals (Kaļķu kvartāls)
🌿 CELMS (Celms Maize)
🌿 DUNA Taproom & Kitchen (Duna Brewery)
🌿 Etīde (Etíde)
🌿 DZIIVA (DZIIVA CACAO)
🌿 CURONIA (Curonia coffee roasters

With additional support from our partner, VV Foundation (VV Foundation), through their PAiR Residency (PAiR* Residency) in Pāvilosta, Latvia.

Paldies! 🌱

07/18/2026

Day 4 | Open Studio

We closed the 2026 Art Therapy Lab International Residency by inviting the Kuldīga community to join ys at Studija.

Friends, neighbors, artists, and community members experienced the creative inquiries that unfolded throughout the week, offering space to reflect, ask questions, and celebrate the temporary community we had built together.

Some experiences are difficult to capture in photographs or words. This week was one of them.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make this year’s residency so meaningful. We’ll be sharing more reflections from the week and artwork from the open studio soon. 🌱
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Organizers:
Maija R (of Studija)
Julia Volonts, LCAT, ATR-BC® (of Art Therapy Lab)

Facilitators:
Ilze Ruksane
Mor Keshet • Eco Art Therapy (MPS, LCAT)
Ina Celitane
Ilga Leimanis

Community Partners & Supporters:
Kaļķu kvartāls
VV Foundation
Duna Brewery
DZIIVA CACAO
Celms Maize
Etíde

Address

New York, NY

Website

http://arttherapy-lab.com/

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