Under Pressure: Navigating Stress in the Creative World

Many artists and creators are carrying a lot right now. Between financial precarity, the demands of creative work, and the constant weight of local and global events, it can be difficult to stay grounded, hopeful, and connected.

This workshop is a guide to understanding and working with stress in the creative world. We’ll explore how stress affects the nervous system and impacts well-being and performance. Together, we’ll learn how to recognize signs of overwhelm and burnout and gain clarity on the different types and stages of stress.

The event will also include an experiential component to provide a grounding way to connect with the concepts discussed and help expand participants’ set of coping strategies, mindfulness techniques, and resilience-building tools. We will use experiential play and expressive arts activities to explore the theme of stress as it relates to participants’ own lives. We’ll bring stress into the room and use art and play to explore it in a process-orientated manner as opposed to focusing on a finished product.

This session is accessible and playful by design: make, move, watch, or just notice. Every level of participation is valid, and opting out is always fine. This is not therapy or performance; there is nothing to produce or share, unless you wish to do so.

Facilitators:

Registered Psychotherapist & Expressive Arts Therapist: Jennifer Fader

Registered Social Worker: Hayley Schmalz

Accessibility

Workshop participants are encourage to bring their own refillable water bottles, along with pillows, blankets, yoga mats, or comfort plushies, as they wish. Chairs with backs will be available onsite (upon request/limited supply).

Duration: 90 Minutes

Venue: Theatre Passe Muraille - Backspace

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