Dr. Kim L. Swan

Hello, 

I am blessed to live and grow on Dja Dja Wurrung country, to work on Wurundjeri country- and acknowledge that both lands are unceded.  

Although having taught in mainstream education (specializing in Performing and Visual Arts) since 1988, I currently co-create educational/learning experiences with colleagues and students at The MIECAT Institute in the Masters of Therapeutic Arts Practice. Since 2011, I have been actively involved in research, curriculum development, as well as teaching and supervising students at MIECAT, coordinating the Selections and Admissions process, coordinating individual subjects, and in more recent years, coordinating the Masters course. In addition, I have been and still am involved in various boards and committees across the organization and enjoy engaging in the heart of this work which feels deeply meaningful to me.  

As well as my work at MIECAT, I have a small private practice offering experiential and creative arts therapy, arts-based professional supervision, and reflective practice. I love that this therapeutic practice keeps my hands in the work in a different way. It informs what I bring to MIECAT and vice-versa. 

The Arts have been my mother tongue for as long as I can remember, and I am committed to co-create through many different modalities as forms of expression and process- as uncomfortable as this can sometimes feel. I love to dance/ move and be moved- listening with my whole body and being heard by others’ bodies through contact improvisation and authentic movement.  I love to use my voice as an instrument with others- making sounds, finding harmony, resonating, responding, and playing vocally to create soundscapes (and the odd A’capella arrangement of Amazing Grace if you’ll let me).  Over the years, I’ve performed original songs and eclectic arrangements of covers as part of duos, trios, and larger groups, but this part of me feels a little rusty these days- (not much chance of “getting the band back together”). I majored in Drama in my undergrad, and never miss an opportunity to be a little bit of a drama queen in the hope of making the world a better place.  

I keep a regular personal reflective practice through visual-art-journaling and have done for almost two decades now; these treasured companions speak my language without the need for translation. They hold elements of a precious process of inquiry that sustains me. Photographing nature makes my heart sing- and I hope to get to know this part of me more as time unfolds… 

My doctoral research explored the experience of being stuck in entrenched, outmoded, or unhelpful patterns and how multimodal, arts-based co-inquiry may support integration towards more preferred ways of being and doing. I am passionate about this work, which is close to my heart, and hope that the research findings will further inform the field of the value of emergent, multimodal, process-oriented arts-based inquiry held within an atmosphere of loving presence.  

Kim is Chair of our Professional Doctorate Seminar Series.