President’s Message

Amanda Gee, BFA, RCAT, RP
Toronto, ON
CATA-ACAT Executive President

When the last issue of Envisage came out we could not have even predicted what was to come. A pandemic, who could have imagined! Across Canada and across the world everyone had to make major changes to their lives. From travel and work, to social gatherings and grocery shopping—every aspect of our lives was affected, and still it continues.

Art therapists across the nation, and internationally, had to figure out how to navigate this new world. Some were deemed essential workers and had to learn how to don and doff PPE while figuring out how to do the work in such different and scary times. Others had to learn how to move their work online and how to remain connected through the screen. In this challenging time people found ways to move forward in creative and innovative ways.

CATA-ACAT, had to make the difficult decision to postpone the conference in Newfoundland until 2021 because of the pandemic. In lieu of that, we will now be hosting a virtual conference, Art Therapy Now More Than Ever, starting November 6, 2020. We are excited to try something new and look forward to hopefully being able to see everyone in person again next year.

There is a lot more happening in the world as well. We, CATA-ACAT, stand in support of Black Lives Matter and are working to do better within our organization for all of our diverse membership. We know there is a lot to be done, and we are committed to anti-racist practices and working toward decolonization in our work.

These times have left me with deep gratitude. Thank you to all of the essential and front-line workers. Thank you to all of our dedicated volunteers who keep CATA-ACAT moving forward even in these difficult times. Thank you to our membership for being a part of the organization and for providing input and feedback.