Singing in the Dark Times : Creation and Resistance in the Arts Therapies

Singing in the Dark Times is a compilation of chapters by 21 global arts therapies scholars, inspired by Stéphane Hessel’s call to “create to resist.” Featuring works from the 2024 ECArTE conference, it explores creativity as resistance, bridging psychotherapeutic processes, wellbeing, and social change.

Singing in the Dark Times is a compilation of scholarly chapters by 21 authors of global reputation in the arts therapies. This publication brings together selected works from the 17th ECArTE conference, which took place in 2024 in Ghent, Belgium. It explores the tensions between inner psychotherapeutic processes and the pursuit of wellbeing and social change. Inspired by Stéphane Hessel’s call to “create to resist and resist to create,” it highlights creativity as a form of active resistance and dignity. The contributions reflect diverse, original responses from international practitioners and scholars. Drawing on the line from Brecht’s poem “Motto” (1939), “Singing about the Dark Times,” the publication emphasizes the role of the arts in enabling transformation. Ultimately, it presents the arts and arts therapies as a powerful space for critical reflection, collaboration, change and hope. Contributors from Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Lebanon, Serbia and the United Kingdom come together in this volume to create a challenging and contemporary publication. Their work reflects a range of perspectives and current approaches across several fields, including theatre practice, the philosophy of art, art therapy, dance movement therapy, dramatherapy and music therapy, offering a rich and diverse exploration of theory and practice. This book is designed to engage and benefit not only practitioners within the arts therapies community but also a wider audience. It will be particularly valuable for students and professionals working in psychology, sociology, psychotherapy, the arts, medicine, arts and health and education, providing insights that connect theory, practice and interdisciplinary collaboration. Chapter 4 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 International license