Therapeutic Landscapes II
Therapeutic Landscapes:
Ritual, Folklore and Wellbeing
Symposium no. 2 will be held on the 12th and 13th June 2026 at the Art House, University of Worcester, Castle Street, Worcester WR1 3HN
https://therapeuticlandscapes.wordpress.com/
The ‘Therapeutic Landscapes: Ritual, Folklore and Wellbeing’ symposium, is a unique focal point for a local, national and international network of practitioners, institutions and organisations that are engaged with the synergies between creativity, health and community informed by folklore and folk culture.
We are delighted to announce that TL2 will take place on the 12th and 13th June 2026, and look forward to welcoming speakers, exhibitors and attendees to another inspirational gathering of ideas, performances, workshops and discussions.
Call for Papers and Makers:
We invite artists, creative practitioners, health practitioners, cultural historians, public health workers and curators who, both formally and informally, are investigating the intersections of ritual, folklore, magic and physical environments and their implications for emotional health and wellbeing to present their work around (but not limited to) the following themes:
Creative placemaking through storytelling
Artistic engagement with local knowledge, know-how and skills held in place
Intentional embodiment in transformative practices
Creative work that addresses class within folk cultures
Communal creative interventions in the landscape
Participatory archaeology/ experimental archaeology
More than human entanglements
The Imagined Village: speculative fiction informed by folklore
Creative interpretation of folk objects held in museums and collections
Public health arts-based initiatives that are informed by Folklore and folk beliefs
Ritual as therapeutic creative practice
Craft practices that investigate connections between making, materiality and emotional wellbeing
Material practices exploring magic and the supernatural
Folk customs, ritual games, and community wellbeing
Mortality, ancestors and commemoration
Right to roam: communities of dissent
Mayhem, mischief and misrule
Creative interpretations of places associated with healing
Pilgrimage, procession and pageantry
Combatting rural loneliness and isolation through Creative Health interventions
Local Artists and artist-led co-ops in rural places
Nature-based approaches to radical self-care
Paper Presentations
Please send a 250-word abstract for a 20-minute presentation to [therapeutic_landscapes@worc.ac.uk]
Performances and Workshops
Proposals for longer performances and workshops are also welcome.
Please send a short 250-word outline of your proposed activity
Exhibition
Please send a short 250-word artist statement and up to 6 images of your work for consideration for the exhibition.
Deadline for proposals: 1st March 2026
Presenters and participants will be notified 14th March 2026
Organising committee:
Desdemona McCannon, Principal Lecturer for Illustration, convenor of the Folk Cultures sig
John Cussans, Senior lecturer and Course Leader for Fine Art, Leader of Arts and Health Research Group.