November 16, 2017
Kimberly Knowles earned her BFA in Art Therapy from Endicott College (2016) and completed a culminating arts-based thesis on the role of visual narrative as a tool of empowerment & healing from trauma. She is working on her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling & Art Therapy (expected 2019) from Lesley University. She interns at Mt. Auburn Hospital Wyman Center in Cambridge, where she works with patients in a geriatric psychiatric unit. Her previous internship experiences have included working at La Tina Center for Expressive Arts in Florence and running teen groups at The Artful Life: Counseling Center and Studio in Beverly, MA. As a student, she values her AATA membership for educational resources and says, “As a recipient 2016 Myra Levick Scholarship, I have felt supported and encouraged by the AATA to pursue higher education to continue my studies of art therapy at a Master’s level.”
She believes art therapy is effective because it “can tap into our raw emotions, and translate them to others without the distraction of words. The potential to feel heard, understood, connected, and healed through this process of authentic communication is immense.” Regarding the future of the profession, she hopes that art therapists gain more recognition and national licensure and that, “we continue to strive for inclusion, accessibility, and to create change.” In her own career, she notes, “As I continue in this field, I hope use art and art therapy to challenge the stigma [around mental health] by working with community arts initiatives that normalize mental illness.”
“Long Walk Home” (part of Fragmentation & Fluidity series) by Kimberly Knowles. Oil on Wood Panel.
Artist’s statement: “This series captures moments of quiet internal reflection and transforms them in geometric shapes and desaturated colors. These works use painting as a method to process the deconstruction of socio-cultural induced labels and re-integrate them into individual identity through visual personal narratives. A focus on slow, mindful strokes of oil paint and a process of abstraction work together to examine the implications of identity, with “Long Walk Home” focusing this artist’s personal experiences of being a woman.”