The Second International Art-Therapy Festival

On July 18 2004, the Moscow school of integrated education Kovcheg held the 2nd International Art Therapy Festival at a resort on the Bay of Finland. There were over 200 hundred participants from Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Petrozavodsk, Tomsk and Khabarovsk, as well as from France and Germany; among them were children with and without disabilities, their parents, special-needs teachers and education officials. During the Festival art therapists from Russia, France and Germany conducted workshops (orchestra, circle-dancing, pottery, woodworking, folk singing and drumming, jewelry-making and cardboard working), helped children prepare a puppet show and a final concert, and organised catamaran rides on the Bay. Parents and specialists attended support groups, professional discussions and master classes given by experienced art-therapists. The Festival was an exciting event for children and adults alike; the only problem was finding time to try all the activities on offer and take in the beauty of the Bay and surrounding pine forests. Partners in Hope was a proud co-sponsor of the Festival for the second time (the First International Art Therapy Festival was conducted in 2003).