Art Therapy Workshop with Luxembourg Connection Aims to Destigmatise Mental Illness in Senegal

Chronicle.lu recently had the opportunity to speak with Catherine Pitt, a Luxembourg-born expressive arts therapy facilitator who is currently based in Senegal, about the art therapy workshop in the psychiatric clinic of a hospital in Dakar where she volunteers.

The Atelier d'EXpression was created in 1999 and is a physical space within the Moussa Diop psychiatric clinic of Fann Hospital in Dakar which offers sessions for hospitalised and non-hospitalised patients twice a week. The vision of the project is to: promote the role of therapeutic arts in supporting people affected by mental illnesses or disorders; value people with mental illness, including their ability to create and express themselves through art; financially support people with mental illnesses through the sale of their works; raise awareness about mental illness and reduce the stigma associated with it (mental illness remains a social taboo in Senegal); advocate more support and resources for mentally ill patients.

Earlier this year, the Embassy of Luxembourg in Senegal financed an exhibition of paintings by patients and beneficiaries of the art therapy workshop as part of the Dakar Biennale, which ran from 19 May to 21 June 2022. Through this exhibition, the Atelier d'EXpression team aimed to raise awareness of the stigmatised issue of mental health in Senegal, giving value to patients and their creativity and celebrating the role of the arts in supporting mental health and healing. Proceeds from the paintings sold went towards supporting the patients and the art therapy workshop.

In this Chronicle.lu interview, Catherine Pitt presents her background as well as the art therapy workshop, its mission and its activities.

Chronicle.lu: Please tell us briefly about your decision to move from Luxembourg to Senegal. When did you make the move and why?

Catherine Pitt: I was born and grew up in Luxembourg. I then moved to the UK for my studies and spent seven years living and working in London in the field of international development. I first moved to Senegal in 2012 with a job working for Save the Children. I also had the opportunity to work on personal initiatives and created a yoga studio with an outreach programme supporting vulnerable women and girls. After a break I then moved back to Senegal in 2018 and amongst other things I currently work as an expressive arts therapy facilitator.

Chronicle.lu: Please tell us more about your involvement in expressive arts therapy work. When was this workshop created and since when have you been involved? What is your specific role?

Catherine Pitt: I am interested in the role that the arts can play in supporting creative expression and promoting mental health and overall well-being. I have trained as an expressive arts therapy facilitator and I am currently completing my training as a transformative coach. I am involved in different types of expressive arts work with a variety of associations and international NGOs. I have been volunteering at the Atelier d'EXpression since 2019. The workshop was created in 1999 and managed by Alassane Seck, an artist and art therapist who is a government employee under the [Senegal] Ministry of Health. He is also the President of RESCAP'ART, as association of former patients of the psychiatric clinic which aims to promote art and culture.

Chronicle.lu: What sparked the decision to launch an exhibition of paintings by patients at the psychiatric clinic?

Catherine Pitt: RESCAP'ART has already organised several exhibitions in the past including for the [Dakar] Biennale but this was the first time they had received a grant to more fully develop an exhibition during the biennale which will be followed by a fresco for international mental health awareness day [World Mental Health Day] on 10 October.

Chronicle.lu: In what way did the Embassy of Luxembourg in Senegal support this project?

Catherine Pitt: The Luxembourg Embassy in Senegal provided a grant to RESCAP'ART to fund this project.

Chronicle.lu: How much money did the exhibition raise to support patients and the workshop?

Catherine Pitt: The aim of the exhibition was to celebrate the role of the arts in supporting mental health, to showcase and give value to the artwork created by patients in the psychiatric clinic and to sensitise the wider public in Senegal on the highly stigmatised issues around mental health. Some of the paintings were sold with half the proceeds going to the artists and half of the proceeds going to support materials for the Atelier d'EXpression. Several paintings were sold, raising approximately €150.

Chronicle.lu: What other activities does the workshop organise? Are there any other projects foreseen in the coming months?

Catherine Pitt: Yes, together with patients from the psychiatric clinic and students from the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts [in Dakar] we are currently designing and preparing a fresco which will be painted on the entrance wall of Fann Hospital in celebration of international mental health awareness day on 10 October.