22 Sept 2016 'Ever Becoming'
Ever Becoming An Exhibition of Prints & Weaves by UCC First Year Occupational Therapy Students
Ever Becoming, Jennings Gallery, UCC
Revisiting the 1966 Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecture of Elizabeth Yerxa
The first year of the Occupational Therapy (OT) undergraduate course at UCC focuses on occupation and health. Students are encouraged to learn more about themselves as occupational beings and extend this understanding to their family, friends and the people with whom they will work in the future. First year is all about 'what people do' and the world in which they do it.
There is a long history of the use of art, craft and creative activities in Occupational Therapy, going back to the foundation of the profession with an understanding of the power of occupation and the harnessing of people's creative energy. It is argued that occupational therapists need to understand the centrality of creativity to health and well-being, just as they understand the centrality of occupation in daily life.
Each year there is a designated theme for the students to explore in their creative activites. The chosen theme reflects the philosopy and content of the year one curriculum. The theme for this year's creative activity sessions and resulting exhibition is "Ever Becoming", words drawn from the 1966 Eleanor Clarke Slagle lecture of Elizabeth Yerxa.