This page provides information about in-person tickets. If you would prefer to attend remotely, please see our online ticket option. 

What role does art therapy play in sustaining care?

Sustaining care means supporting the conditions in which people, communities and organisations can thrive. Drawing on creative and relational processes, this conference will examine how art therapy contributes to this goal across three interconnected strands:

1. Supporting psychological safety and reducing burnout among healthcare professionals
2. Building wellbeing and cohesion in communities, including work with marginalised and underserved groups
3. Supporting individual people to recover from trauma across the lifespan.

This conference brings together landmark new evidence, including the findings of a major randomised controlled trial, alongside community-based practice and clinical work with individuals, to demonstrate art therapy’s contribution to sustained, compassionate care.

Programme

Opening address by Sonia Kumar, Labour MP for Dudley and a registered physiotherapist.

Keynote presentations

‘Why the arts are the forgotten fifth pillar of health: evidence for individual, community and societal health and wellbeing benefits’ | Daisy Fancourt 

What does the science tell us about how arts and cultural engagement shapes our health? Drawing on her work leading the WHO Collaborating Centre on Arts and Health, Professor Daisy Fancourt will present the evidence for how arts engagement builds resilience and supports recovery at individual, community and systems levels.

‘Sustaining those who care: art therapy and healthcare workforce wellbeing’ | Megan Tjasink, presenting alongside a medical doctor who participated in group art therapy

Megan Tjasink will present findings from a multi-site randomised controlled trial evaluating group art therapy for healthcare professionals. Co-presenting with a doctor who took part in the trial, the keynote will explore what art therapy can offer healthcare workers at risk of burnout.

‘Making art therapy accessible: working with marginalised communities’ | Thahmina Begum, presenting alongside a service user from SEND Salaam CIC

Drawing on two decades of community practice across Yorkshire and beyond, Thahmina Begum and a participant from a local community group will share how art therapy can support marginalised communities to process difficult experiences, reclaim their stories and access high-quality, relevant and safe mental health support.

Artist’s talk: ‘The Love Booth: art, social history and community cohesion’ | Karen Vost 

Registered art therapist and Arts Council England funded artist Karen Vost shares The Love Booth, a community arts project using the analogue photobooth to document everyday love, build community cohesion and preserve collective social history. Drawing on her dual identity as artist and art therapist, Karen explores how accessible, participatory artmaking can create belonging and bring diverse communities together.

Parallel sessions

The conference will include parallel sessions. We will be in touch in October to find out your preference, however we cannot guarantee you will be allocated your first choice.

Confirmed sessions include:

• ‘Community-based art psychotherapy in museum settings‘ with Julia Cort, art therapist, Horniman Museum
• ‘Supervision in a changing world: adapting our practice to meet new challenges‘ with Val Huet, art therapist and visiting professor at University of Hertfordshire & Ulster University
• Art-based practice workshop with Thahmina Begum, keynote speaker
• Art-based practice workshop with Megan Tjasink, keynote speaker
• Build your own boat: a creative tool for grief and trauma with Sharon Herriot
• Children’s experiences of school art therapy with Dr Deirdre Simmen McConnell
• Supporting children’s recovery from complex trauma with Sarah Furneaux-Blick & Stuart Murray-Borberg
• Nature-based art therapy for trauma recovery in psychosis with Tamsin Welldon and Richard Page
• Reframing recovery: art therapy in women’s specialist inpatient rehabilitation with Tessa Taylor
• Queer cartographies: Mapping our worlds of belonging in art therapy with Zachary D. Van Den Berg and Jessie Holder

Tickets

Tickets for our annual conference can only be purchased directly from our website.

A limited number of in-person tickets are available, so early booking is advised. In-person ticket bookings will close at 2pm, Sunday 18 October 2026, or when tickets sell out.

Early-bird tickets

We’re offering 10% off ticket prices for the first 100 in-person ticket sales or until 30 June 2026. Early-bird tickets are available to BAAT members only and cannot be used for employer-funded bookings.

Use the discount code at checkout: EARLY10BIRD26

Employer-funded tickets

Employer-funded bookings can be made for in-person or online tickets by completing an invoice request form and sending it to events@baat.org. The deadline for employer-funded bookings is Thursday, 1 October 2026.

Booking information

In early October, in-person ticket holders will be invited to provide dietary and access requirements and a preference for the afternoon parallel session. Please refer to our event terms and conditions or email us at events@baat.org for more information.

We want to ensure this event is accessible to everyone. If you require accessibility accommodations (such as BSL interpretation), please register and share your requirements with us by 20 August. Allowing us that extra time helps us to ensure the right support is in place for your visit!

Why join in person?

In-person tickets include a light lunch and refreshments throughout the day, giving you time to connect with fellow delegates and continue conversations between sessions.

Joining the conference in person will also give you access to the full conference programme and choice of parallel sessions, allowing you to choose presentations most relevant to your interests and practice.

Can’t join us in person? Join us online!

The conference is also available to attend remotely at a reduced cost.

Online tickets

*Please note that this is a live-only event and a full recording will not be made available to attendees afterwards.

Sponsors

Founded over 240 years ago in London by artisans Richard and Thomas Rowney, Daler-Rowney has partnered with creative legends – from Turner to Peter Blake – to handcraft materials that inspire artists at every level. Colour remains at our core, crafted by UK artisans, alongside our brushes, papers, and curated canvases. Our vision: empower everybody to create and raise their artistic voice – captured in our philosophy, PAINT LOUD™. Stand out. Be bold. PAINT LOUD™. 

Learn more at https://www.daler-rowney.com/

ArtAICare is an initiative from University of Luxembourg advancing art therapy through an integrated ecosystem of research, education and practice support. Its pioneering, secure, end-to-end platform empowers therapists with complete art therapy toolkits and data-driven insights for in-person, remote and phygital (physical and digital) art therapy sessions, while its academy provides AI and technology literacy programmes for art therapists and mental health professionals, ensuring therapists lead and technology supports responsible practice in a digitally native world.

Learn more at www.artaicare.com and www.artaicare.academy

Artway empowers creativity with affordable, high-quality, and sustainable art supplies across the UK. From eco-friendly papers to mixed-media kits, our materials provide the foundation for self-expression. We proudly support the art therapy community with a 15% discount for BAAT members, offering materials that honour your clients’  journeys and the environment.