Supporting Staff Self-Expression Through Art

Presented by Laura Bright from East Carolina University during the 2024 NC LIVE Annual Conference.
Creating art helps to lower stress levels, reduce anxiety, and promote feelings of self-empowerment. Engaging in creative activity can promote feelings of success at work, and the arts help to strengthen relationships and promote understanding in communities.
In this session, I will give practical examples of art projects that promote self-expression and mindfulness which can be used for staff art clubs and professional development events and explain how to plan for and present this programming. I will also share advice for starting and promoting library staff art clubs, based upon my own experience leading an art club at my university library, and share some of our outcomes and successes.