PHILIPSBURG:--- On Wednesday, January 24, some 110 visitors from Princess Cruise and Fathom Travel arrived on St. Maarten to participate in a community outreach effort to offer support to those affected by Hurricane Irma. This initiative was made possible through a collaboration with Art Saves Lives and the National Institute of Arts NIA to be the hosting foundations so that the guest could experience first-hand the ART HEALS Program.
After participating in an early morning beach clean-up at Guana Bay Beach organized in collaboration with the St. Maarten Nature Foundation, the guest traveled to NIA where they spent 3 hours in engaging in various creative expressive art therapies
The Princess Cruise Passengers were treated to a performance by musicians Julien Seguret, Ernesto Arrindell and dancers Naomi Warsop, Ray Angel Simon, and Zaquel Phipps who did a collaboration entitled IRMA. The piece, a percussion drum dance story depicted the ferociousness of the hurricane. Guest speaker Armelle Six, herself a survivor of Cataclysmic loss, presented a Movement for Life session, where she educated the audience how to access within themselves coping tools to deal with trauma in their lives.
Co-director of NIA Clara Reyes engaged the Fathom Travels in a movement and self-awareness session. “The purpose was to bring awareness of our self in space and being present” Ms. Reyes adds “that in the breath is the first step toward finding peace of mind in stress situation”. “We were extremely happy for this occasion to showcase our children’s talent as well as the healing power of the Arts” states Co-director Arlene Halley.
The guest concluded their day at NIA with an Arts and Craft session, where they were able to design their own ART HEALS T-Shirt. “It was important for us to have them leave St. Maarten. with a tangible record of their visit here” says Ms. Reyes, “This was a unique opportunity for them to delve beyond the sea, sand and sun experience and give them the opportunity and ourselves the opportunity, to engage in a deeper human exchange”. The passengers indulged in some Bush Tea accompanied with Johnny Cakes, courtesy of Amanda Vital-Bedminister and a souvenir bag from Art Saves Lives Foundation.
In addition to the experiential journey in the arts, the collaborating companies presented a donation cheque to NIA. “We are grateful to Carib Resort Tours, Princess Cruises, and Fathom Travels who donated the proceeds of this tour to ART HEALS and for reaching out to The National Institute of Arts, and Art Saves Lives, for seeing a wider possibility for tourism product in St. Maarten.
