Join us February 19th, 2026 at 6 PM for DARC’s Expanded Practice Artist-in-Residence Olivia Onuk’s presentation “Art as Therapy: On Process, Conversation and Care” in celebration of Black History Month.
About the Talk:
This artist talk traces the evolution of Art as Therapy: In Conversation with Creatives, a video series exploring how artists use creative practice as a form of healing, reflection, and connection. I’ll speak about moving from one-on-one interviews to dialogue-based conversations between artists, the challenges of translating intimacy to short-form media, and what it means to document care, process, and growth in real time. The talk reflects on art not as a solution, but as a sustained practice of staying with ourselves and each other.
About Olivia Onuk:
Olivia Onuk is an interdisciplinary artist and community organizer whose practice is rooted in the truth of art as therapy. Through poetry, storytelling, visual art, and drumming, she explores well-being, meaning-making, and the depths of human experience. Her work invites reflection, communal dialogue, and deeper engagement with the self. ms and memory can offer creative pathways.
She is currently creating work that asks questions around identity, memory, lineage, and how much of who we are is shaped by where we come from.
With a background in family violence and conflict resolution, and over 13 years of experience in event coordination, curation, and consultation, Olivia facilitates arts-based wellness workshops and manages creative programs for individuals and organizations. She was the inaugural Artist in Residence in Government for the City of Ottawa, where she collaborated with the Integrated Neighbourhood Services Team to develop artwork and creative responses to civic challenges.