#7 Finland - Conference
Posted by Kate Broom on Thursday, October 28, 2010
Up early and away to the conference venue. This was a college building and we were in the main hall/sports hall. More like a school than a college with the room being huge and high ceilinged and covered in wood panelling. All the IT worked well and no problems. The audience was made up of students (from several courses) academics/teachers, health representatives and other interested people. About 100 people. J did the introductions and I launched into my talk. I found myself refering to the conversations I had the previous evening and with J over journeys in the car and other things. The audience was attentive and it all seemed to go well.
Interestingly, when we came to the end of the presentation, there were no questions. Aparently this is quite normal and debate and discussion is not so public. My presentation was followed by a paper on Music Education for People with Special Needs. This was the research of a young woman from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki which questioned who can be a musician and who decides what a musician is. She showed some movies of workshops she had done. The key issue here was who has access to music making.
We then had lunch which was interesting as the conversation continued but much to my surprise, we were allocated a separate and reserved table for the speakers which meant that I didn't have the opportunity to talk to any students or any of the delegates who were there. I commented on this and ended up keeping a Finnish table sign - reserved!
The afternoon included a fascinating presentation from Minna Haveri, on the concept of spontaneous, untrained artist who make mainly scultptures (men in sheds in the woods) which is a thriving occupation which needs preserving in public exhibtion spaces or in collections. This was a kind of folk art/outsider art but without the implications of mental health/ill health. They reminded me of ethonographic research and Henry Darger. Spirited woodland enterprises.
This was followed by a presentation by one of the women I had met over dinner...... this was a Doctoral thesis which has now been published. The strength of drama as a form of communication is very evident. Why this is the case is less clear... why drama?
We ended the day with a drama presentation from a professional drama/movement group. This is a piece of work which is 'in process' and is tailored for the needs of people on the autistic spectrum using sensory references and presentation techniques. The stage for the presentation was built in the morning before the conference and two actresses presented various experiences incorporating sensory materials, colours, signing, ball throwing and catching, smell and touch of water. Very powerfully constructed.
We ended the day with more informal conversations and warm embraces..... several people came up and thanked me for my presentation and expressions of how much this was enjoyed. What was signficant was that each presentation re-inforced part of what had been said before and the parts really did make a whole. It was easy to make the links between the different art forms, audiences and methods, so it became clear that there was a shared ethos.
Interestingly, when we came to the end of the presentation, there were no questions. Aparently this is quite normal and debate and discussion is not so public. My presentation was followed by a paper on Music Education for People with Special Needs. This was the research of a young woman from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki which questioned who can be a musician and who decides what a musician is. She showed some movies of workshops she had done. The key issue here was who has access to music making.
We then had lunch which was interesting as the conversation continued but much to my surprise, we were allocated a separate and reserved table for the speakers which meant that I didn't have the opportunity to talk to any students or any of the delegates who were there. I commented on this and ended up keeping a Finnish table sign - reserved!
The afternoon included a fascinating presentation from Minna Haveri, on the concept of spontaneous, untrained artist who make mainly scultptures (men in sheds in the woods) which is a thriving occupation which needs preserving in public exhibtion spaces or in collections. This was a kind of folk art/outsider art but without the implications of mental health/ill health. They reminded me of ethonographic research and Henry Darger. Spirited woodland enterprises.
This was followed by a presentation by one of the women I had met over dinner...... this was a Doctoral thesis which has now been published. The strength of drama as a form of communication is very evident. Why this is the case is less clear... why drama?
We ended the day with a drama presentation from a professional drama/movement group. This is a piece of work which is 'in process' and is tailored for the needs of people on the autistic spectrum using sensory references and presentation techniques. The stage for the presentation was built in the morning before the conference and two actresses presented various experiences incorporating sensory materials, colours, signing, ball throwing and catching, smell and touch of water. Very powerfully constructed.
We ended the day with more informal conversations and warm embraces..... several people came up and thanked me for my presentation and expressions of how much this was enjoyed. What was signficant was that each presentation re-inforced part of what had been said before and the parts really did make a whole. It was easy to make the links between the different art forms, audiences and methods, so it became clear that there was a shared ethos.