JKP are thrilled to share the news that in January this year Marian Liebmann was awarded an OBE for services to Social Justice through Art Therapy and Mediation.
On receiving the news Marian says she was very surprised, “A colleague had mentioned it to me but it was so long ago I hadn’t given it any thought. I was surprised too that it was an OBE rather than an MBE.” In terms of what it means to be awarded an OBE, Marian explains; “it means recognition for the work I’ve done over the years, and also recognition of my fields of work as important. The citation also includes ‘Social Justice’ which I am passionate about. I’ve been surprised by the number of people who have seen it in the paper and who regard it very positively – people who know nothing or very little about what I do – so it does help to raise the profile of my work with people who are not familiar with it.”
Over the course of her career Marian has worked in education, victim support, probation, art therapy, mediation, conflict resolution and restorative justice and in 2005 she received a special merit award of the Longford Prize for her pioneering work in art therapy, restorative justice and mediation.
Marian has written and edited ten books, including Art Therapy in Practice, Art Therapy with Offenders, Arts Approaches to Conflict, Art Therapy, Race and Culture, Mediation in Context, Art Therapy and Anger, and Restorative Justice: How It Works, all published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
The OBE ceremony will take place on 17thMay.
Congratulations to Marian Liebmann on her OBE award, I am delighted for her. She lectured & gave a workshop last year at our college in Cork -to the MA Art Therapy class, she was very impressive and it was a privilege to be in her class. She is an inspiration. Her dedication and work ethic were obvious.