THE TEAM
Founder
Barbara-Anne Puren
Therapeutic and Creative Arts practitioner, musician, artist and author, Barbara has spent a lifetime as an artisté. Barbara graduated from Technikon Natal in Performing Arts and was also trained in classical ballet as well as contemporary dance. She has spent more than three decades under the floodlights as a performance artist. Twenty years ago, Barbara began developing her skills as a Performance Arts Facilitator and merged this with exciting Team building events.
Barbara has just returned from living in Switzerland where for the past six years she completed further studies in the Therapeutic Arts field and as a practitioner developed her own unique brand of Therapeutic Arts Workshops and Immersive Creative Experiences.
At home and abroad, Barbara has facilitated many and varied therapeutic arts workshops and storytelling platforms where she uses all the modalities of the creative arts. From dance, to percussion, to the spoken and written word as well as exploring visual arts, Barbara guides the participants to find their own unique form of creative expression.
During these events, Barbara-Anne focuses on the development of key personal and social skills such as enhanced verbal, visual and physical memory skills as well as improved aural perception linked to language development and rhythm, as well as the use of shape and colour to express emotions.
Her workshops are suitable for all ages from 5 to 95 – parents, professionals, students, and grandparents. Absolutely NO art, music nor dance experience is necessary as her workshops focus on the process and development of creativity rather than trying to create perfect pieces of art. And equally important, her workshops are Fun with a capital “F”.
Studies have shown that in order for human beings to truly be happy, they need to feel connected. In her team building events and workshops, Barbara uses all forms of creative expression to find innovative ways for people to explore and express themselves in diverse situations, make connections, as well as find creative ways of brainstorming, dealing with stress management, work-life balance, conflict management and trauma debriefing, to name but a few.
After completing her team building activities and workshops, the participants have a better understanding of each other's strengths, weaknesses, and interests, thus creating a better connection amongst themselves. This new understanding of each other helps the group to work even better together for future progress which is vital to any company.
Barbara is also a published author, with her award winning first children’s book titled: “A Family Just Like Mine”. Barbara has written two more children’s books which will be available to the public soon. Her books have been specifically written for children who might be dealing with difficult social and emotional challenges.
Passionate about The Arts as a whole and understanding the critical role that they play in creating physical, mental, and emotional well-being Barbara is excited to have opened her healing arts centre in her home country South Africa.
According to Einstein: “Imagination is FAR more important than knowledge”.
Team Members
