Mindset

Kaleidoscopes

The Mindset Institute has created a proprietary program of creative workshops in a type of developmental art therapy. The classes are designed for children between the ages of 7 and 18 who are in inpatient psychiatric wards.

Kaleidoscopes support the treatment process of young patients – they allow them to relax, express their emotions, and take their minds off difficult experiences and hospital reality. They also create a space for cooperation and building relationships with other patients.

We believe in the fact that the more difficult moments in children’s lives and hospitalization, is a temporary situation and can change like pictures in a kaleidoscope. The name of the classes therefore refers to the perception of the world in all colors, sometimes bright and colorful, and sometimes darker. Through art classes we teach children these simple truths.

The classes are attended each time by a group of a dozen children and young people under the guidance and support of the foundation’s volunteers – psychologists, psychotherapists and psychology students. The classes are popular among young patients, detached during their hospital stay from the regular rhythm of school activities.

The creative development of Kaleidoscopes is supported by a group of artists who specialize in creativity using visual arts.

The program is free for medical facilities and their patients.

Program coordinator contact:
Magdalena Mazurkiewicz – Skuza
m.mazurkiewicz.skuza@mindset.org.pl

Artists

Karolina Balmas-Pęczuła

Graduate of Art Education and Graphic Design, nature educator. Passionate about filmmaking and music. Passionate about nature and ecology, creator of a musical group for children Ptaszkowie Śpiewali and many other musical projects in Poland.

Bożka Rydlewska

Visual artist, graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, also at Högskolan för Design och Konsthantverk in Gothenburg. He is engaged in creative explorations in the area of graphics, illustrations and collage, referring to the tradition of surrealist imagery, botany and literature. He also creates paper sculptures inspired by the book pop-up technique. She took part in many exhibitions in Poland and abroad, including: at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, at Trafostacja Sztuki in Szczecin, at the Illustrative Festival in Berlin, the Wanted Design Festival in New York and Landmark North in Hong Kong. For several years, Bożka has been conducting imagination-stirring workshops for children and adults based on working with paper and exploring its various artistic possibilities.

More at:

www.bozka.com
https://www.facebook.com/bozka.rydlewska
http://www.instagram.com/bozka.rydlewska

Joanna Kunicka

Trained as a linguist and interior designer. For years she has been interested in psychology and art. She paints abstractions and devotes much of her life to this. She is keenly interested in the relationship between what is realized and what lies dormant in man without his knowledge.

In her paintings she tames monsters, and works through traumas. She takes as her goal the creation of emotionally wise art, rather than purely expressive art. She believes that in this kind of art we find true solace.

1 Hospitals

440 kids

Participants

18 Volunteers

4 Artists

Magdalena Mazurkiewicz – Skuza

Program Coordinator

Magdalena coordinates the foundation’s projects and works with a team of volunteers. She is an interior designer and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and Lodz, winning scholarships and presenting projects at exhibitions. She has designed private and commercial interiors, co-organized cultural events, and gained experience in an interactive agency and an HR start-up. After the pandemic, she changed her career path and has been studying psychology at SWPS University since 2022, with a passionate focus on clinical psychology.