256 • Introduction to Art Therapy
While the number of art therapists of color is steadily increasing, there is a tremendous need
to raise the consciousness of those art therapists who daily serve Black, Hispanic, Asian, and
Native American clients.
In the beginning, the American Art Therapy Association had very few members of color,
despite the presence of individuals like Christine Wang (A) and Lucille Venture (B), whose
doctoral dissertation (1977) was entitled The Black Beat in Art Therapy Experiences. In 1974
Cliff Joseph (C) (Figure 11.10) convened a panel on Art Therapy and the Third World (D),
which included pioneers like Lemuel Joyner from New York and Georgette Powell (E) from
Washington, founder of one of the first community-based art therapy programs, Tomorrow’s
World (Fig ure 11.11).
For many years, Charles Anderson (F) of Menninger’s led what was then known as the
Third World Committee. The committee sponsored a number of consciousness-raising
events, such as a panel titled “Cultural Awareness & the Creative Process” at the 1981 con-
ference, chaired by Sarah McGee (G).
The group has been revitalized by the presence of a new generation, people like Gwen
McPhaul Short (H), Anna Hiscox (I) (Hiscox & Calisch, 1997; Virshup, 1993), Cheryl Doby-
Copeland (J), Charlotte Boston (K), and Stella Stepney (L).
First named the Mosaic Committee, it is now called the Multicultural Committee (MCC).
The committee has succeeded in having a course on multicultural competence included in
AATA’s requirements for educational programs, and in adding that topic to AATA’s ethics
document. Members are working on a number of projects, including the creation of a film
using interviews of pioneers, provisionally entitled “In Living Color.”
The Multicultural Committee (MCC) works to increase the social responsibility, aware-
ness, knowledge, theories, and skills of art therapists to effectively work with people of
multiple cultures, ethnicity, and racial background, of multiple religions, ability, age,
sexual orientation, gender, socioeconomic levels, nationality, and indigenous heritage.Figure 11.10 Cliff Joseph, Art Therapy & the Third World