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 & art therapists

Joanna Wróblewska, phd

Joanna Wróblewska is a visual artist and expressive arts therapist currently based in Belgium. She holds an MA degree in intermedia graphic design, a PhD degree in visual arts, and an MA degree in Expressive Arts Therapy with a Minor in Psychology. Joanna works mainly with people who have experienced migration in any form and those who search for a place of belonging. She specializes in gentle trauma-informed, cross-cultural, and interdisciplinary therapeutic work using various art-based tools, somatic practices, guided imagery, and deep relaxation techniques like Yoga Nidra. Joanna draws inspiration from the natural world, especially from greenery and forests. A deep connection with nature helps her to express as an artist as well as to hold restorative therapeutic spaces for people who deal with cultural shock, loneliness, sense of guilt, doubts, sadness, and anything else that accompanies major changes and marks points of transition in their lives.

More at:

https://artstudiojw.com/

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

44 Workshops

685 kids

Participants

19 Volunteers

5 Artists / art therapists

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.