Arts Experience Art Camp for Health & Resilience

Students from a very underprivileged neighborhood in Indonesia gather for a 4-day art
camp that focuses on teaching healthy habits and the avoidance of cigarettes which is a
big social problem in the community. Percussion music, singing, movement, role-play
and visual arts are the activities. The art camp will end with a show-case of the large
collaborative paintings that the students are excited to show to their community.
Attributes of Hope*
Examples of responses
Art-related responses
WILL-POWER
THINKING
Initiating

Future orientation

Non-art responses

Working together in
a group to decide
what elements
should be included
in the collaborative
collage
Each participant
draws an individual
drawing in a small
part of the
collaborative piece
Role-playing in a
skit as practice for a
future situation and
future dramatic
opportunities
Doing theater
exercises to warm
up and also improve
control over ones
body, such as
mirroring.

Leading a group to
come to a decision
on what should be
included on the
collaborative
collage.
Coming to a
decision on the color
scheme

Gathering
knowledge for
future success.
Setting an alarm
clock to get up the
next morning.
Setting alarms for
future deadlines.

Intentionality

Do many color
mixing exercises to
decide on color
theme of the mural

Conduct in-depth
research for the
theme of the mural

Positive expectation

Mixing colors in a
special exercise to

Getting up early in
order to arrive at art

Attributes of Hope*

Examples of responses
Art-related responses
plan for a future
collaborative
painting
Choosing a
percussion
instrument carefully
before the
collaborative
percussion session
begins

Non-art responses
camp on time.
Planning who to
invite to the final
showcase

WAY-POWER THINKING
Ability to generate
workable routes to goals

Realism

Activity

Working together to
decide who will
have what role in
creating the
collaborative
painting. Who will
draw, who will
paint, who will
choose the collage
elements and who
will help to
coordinate the
group.
Use local and
available supplies
for making the
collage.
Keep the collaborate
art substrate to a
practical size so that
the project is doable
with regards to time
& space
Participate in
movement and
percussion session
and modulate the
speed & volume.
Participate in the

Bringing collage
elements from home
to add to the
available supplies.
Create a schedule
that is easy for
everyone to follow

Remaining flexible
throughout the
process.

Call friends a week

before art camp to
make sure they
remember the date.

Attributes of Hope*

Examples of responses
Art-related responses
collaborate painting
project

Interconnectedness
(relational behaviors,
willingness to connect with
others)

Transcendence
(Includes the ability to
extend beyond current
situation, moving from hope
for cure to hope for
fulfillment)

Making music with

percussion
instruments and
modifying the sound
so that it blends and
compliments the
other instruments
Sharing premixed
colors with other
members of the
group
Role-play in skit
about how to resist
the temptation to
smoke in the future.

Non-art responses

Enjoying each
others presence
Sitting in a circle to
create music and to
share thoughts and
ideas
Sharing feelings out
loud with the group

Discuss with the

group ideas of how
to do another art
camp and what
should the theme be

*Compiled from Manifestations of Hope in Music Therapy with Hospitalized Pediatric Patients, a Masters
Thesis by Charissa Tan, Creative Arts in Therapy Program, Drexel University, June 2008.