[Self-Study] Pen, Crystal Bracelet, and Furniture: Exploring the Complexities of Belonging and Well-being

About the Event

In this session, Winnie will share how personal objects, such as a pen, crystal bracelet, or storage hard drive, carried by these individuals on their journeys, serve as focal points to unravel their complex emigration stories in their unique sociocultural contexts. Alongside her interviews with the participating Hong Kongers, she delves into the art of papermaking, a creative and reflective process that not only uncovers the nuanced insights deeply resonant with their experiences but also intertwines with her evolving understanding of the concept of home.

In addition to her research, Winnie will share examples of how personal objects and stories have been utilized in community-based creative initiatives during the pandemic and the 2020 US election, fostering a sense of interdependence and resilience in uncertain times.”

Participants will leave with a better understanding of the emergent themes and practical implications of Winnie’s research; including embracing cultural heterogeneity, creating space for ambivalence and non-belonging, and fostering “Emergent Well-being”—a strategy that centers the unique perspectives of emigrants navigating their identities and experiences.

Registration Information

Registration fees are $52 for AATA members and $82 for non-members.
Attendees receive 2 CE credits.

Tsz Yan Winnie Wong

MAATC, ATR-BC, LPC

Tsz Yan Winnie Wong is a Registered and Board-Certified Art Therapist, Licensed Professional Counselor, an EMDR-trained clinician, supervisor, educator, researcher, and artist. Winnie's research centers on cultural identities and differences in art therapy practice. Her art practice examines collective recovery and is presented through participatory art and site-specific installations, with her recent work exploring emigration and home through papermaking.

With over fourteen years of diverse experience spanning institutions and communities in Singapore, India, Hong Kong, and the USA, Winnie currently practices at YWCA Metropolitan Chicago. There, she applies anti-oppressive frameworks rooted in critical feminisms and relational-cultural theory, offering trauma-informed art therapy to survivors of sexual violence across all age groups. In addition to providing professional training on crisis intervention, Winnie is an active participant in both national and international art therapy discourses, contributes as a reviewer for the American Art Therapy Association conference proposals, and serves on the Cook County human trafficking task force subcommittee. Winnie was also the founder of Dialogue in Art, an open community studio in Hong Kong dedicated to serving underserved youth.