We would like to thank all those who participated in the Candidates Committee Webinar on February 4, 2024, entitled “The Art(s) of Traumatic Loss and the Work of Mourning: art-making, collaboration, and the journey from bystander to empathic self-witness,” to make this such a successful event. This webinar featured Donna Bassin (USA) and her compelling work at the intersection of psychoanalysis and her art practice as a photo-based artist and documentary filmmaker.

This webinar marked the inaugural launch of a new format for the annual Candidates Committee webinar in which we all met together for two and half hours via Zoom to experience Donna’s interactive artist talk, accompanied by images of her artwork along with video clips from her documentary films. We had 125 people register for this webinar, and participants asked wonderful and engaging questions during the Q&A portion following Donna’s presentation.

We are very appreciative of the IARPP Board’s support for our implementing this new format, for Donna’s generous presentation, and for Elisa Zazzera’s steadfast administrative support which helped make it all happen.

We look forward to seeing many of you in Mérida and welcome you to attend our fabulous Candidates Panel featuring three wonderful panelists, Sepidah Shirani (Iran), Gerardo Perez Alcaraz (Mexico), and Stefania Baresic (Canada), along with our discussant Maria Silvia Soriato (Italy). See you soon!

Lissa Schaupp, LCSW
New York, NY, USA
Email Lissa Schaupp

Afarin Kohan, MD, FRCPC
Toronto, Canada
Email Afarin Kohan