Expressive Arts Institute of Oregon is where Expressive Arts Education meets life-long learning
Expressive Arts Institute of Oregon, a Nonprofit School of Expressive Arts is about discovering how art becomes you. Formerly Bergin Learning Arts, for over 25 years we’ve been working in the field of expressive arts therapy and education, providing tools for parents, teachers and children to explore the art of learning through movement, drawing, writing and cooperative group activities.
We offer a 500-hour training program for those seeking an accelerated path to credentialed expressive arts experience. We also offer continuing education for teachers, as well as an ongoing and ever-evolving series of classes for children and parents.
We believe the core skills of human development are empathy and the ability to build and maintain meaningful, heart-felt and mindful relationships.
The exploration begins at the crossroads of self-discovery and personal meaning. Together, we learn how art becomes you – this means we offer a safe space for the many forms this expression takes – movement, drawing, writing, and reflection with others.
We believe that knowledge held in our body is where learning starts and is also the place to which we return.
Expressive Arts Institute of Oregon is a shared vision based on community action: We are committed to bringing our love of movement, music, art making, and story telling to fellow travelers both near and far away.
Our primary yardstick for assessing our work is our ability to be good listeners to what people, big and small, are saying and doing:
We follow and listen to the shape of their sentences, the cadence of their gestures, and the arc of their stories. Together we are weaving and unsnarling the tangled threads of our stories. For when we walk alongside our fellow travelers we experience our shared courage, humor and the stories that move all of us.
We are grateful for our volunteering collaborations lately (and over-time), connecting our love for expressive arts to our global neighbors:
- Girls Inc.
- Fr. Jim Galluzzo, The Urban Spirituality Center
- Monika’s House, Domestic Resource Center
- No Kidding Choir
- People for Parks
- Portland Community Media Center
- Self-enhancement Inc.
- Schools Uniting Neighborhoods
- Metropolitan Family Services
- Street Yoga
- Unitarian Church, Portland
- Write Around Portland
- Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center: Expressions of Healing Community, OR
- Couneil International de la Danse, Paris
- Friendly House Community Center
- OregonASK
- St. Johns Swapnplay
- OregonAEYC
- Parent Child Preschools Organization
- Oregon Parenting Educators Conference
More About the Founders
About our teachers
- Meet our Guest Faculty for the 500-hour Expressive Arts Education program
Contact Us:
We are based in Portland, Oregon. Please send us a reply to find out what services we can offer in your area.
Our Administrative Business hours are Mon-Friday 10am to 5pm.
By Mail:
Expressive Arts Institute of Oregon
PO Box 83441
Portland, OR 97283
Email:
Send email here: [email protected]
Or, you can use this form: Need More Info?
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Expressive Arts Institute of Oregon profile on the International Somatic Movement Education & Therapy Association
Expressive Arts Institute of Oregon does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff and subcontractors, selection of vendors and agencies, and provision of services. We are committed to providing and inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, subcontractors, clients, and vendors.
