[Art and rehabilitation]

The therapeutic benefit of art therapy in rehabilitation differs from that of art in general in that the creative activity is viewed as a vehicle of remediation in the one case while, in the other, art is an end in itself. In the arts, being disabled may be brought to bear as a quality of the creative processes involved. In no other field have integration and equality of disabled people been realized more fully than in the artistic-cultural domain, while artistic achievements of disabled people, in turn, hold the potential for lasting impact on public awareness generally. Creation of a centre to provide professional training opportunities for persons with disabilities in the performing arts would be desirable. A national umbrella organization of groups and individuals active in the field of creativity, EUCREA-Deutschland is planning to step up its efforts in drawing attention to the importance of arts and culture for disabled people.