Emeritus Professor of Music Nigel Osborne is one of the world’s experts in the use of music to tackle trauma as a result of war and conflict, in particular with children. We, along with many others, have worked with Nigel for over 20 years in the Western Balkans, UK and India using music to help children deal with anxiety, stress, their disabilities and trauma. Nigel has projects around the world including in Yemen, Lebanon, Sweden and India as well as his home base of Scotland. In Ukraine he is currently training teams of student psychologists, psychotherapists, musicians and doctors, partnering with the following
- Ivan Franko National University, Lviv, Performing Arts faculty/li>
- Ukrainian Catholic University, Lviv, Psychology faculty
- SState University of the Arts, Applied Arts faculty, Kharkiv
“The course seemed very serious to me and I was scared. But actually the course is very interesting and clear. Thanks to him, (Nigel) I saw that it was difficult for me to work with children in the shelter. In a global sense, it is sad to see the conditions in which children live. In order for significant changes to take place, a lot of work needs to be done.” A student studying in the psychology programme. 20 December 2022
The regular schedule consists of a monthly two week-long trip to Ukraine to teach in person and lead workshops with children alongside trainees, followed by weekly online lectures. The practical workshops with children are taking place in locations across the country, supervised by Nigel and his team of local and international colleagues.
An article in VAN magazine written by Nigel in February 2023
“We integrate contemporary Ukrainian culture into the context of world art. Through its activities, the ART DOT NGO forms a new identity for Ukrainians and raises issues of inclusion, media manipulation and human rights.
“At the same time a project has been initiated by two long-established organizations that use art as a response to social challenges – Kazalište Ulysses and ArtDot. The recent history of Croatia includes the dark chapter of the Yugoslav War in the 1990s, an experience which led to widespread trauma in Croatian society. Contemporary Ukrainian society is traumatized for similar reasons, experiencing the human cost of war on a daily basis. The negative effects are becoming increasingly clear. In the future, we can expect that Ukrainians will face even more acute social problems – division, cruelty, despair, stress. There are many historical examples of nations that were victims of wars and later became aggressors themselves due to collective trauma. The victims often become perpetrators, violence begets violence – a vicious circle. In the synergy of organizations with similar experiences, this project was created with the aim of escaping from this vicious circle of violence” – Zero Zero Art Therapy Force/Art Dot, Ukraine.
Here is a short film made by ArtDot with the people involved in the process mostly on phones.
The crowdfunding page is still open if you would like to contribute to the work.
If you can offer further support, ideas or contacts please contact admin@operacircus.co.uk
Thank you.
