Artist: Marik Berghs

What’s your name?
What’s your name?

Artist's Statement
Play, research has concluded, is of paramount importance in shaping a child’s sense of self, fundamental to growing their social skills, especially empathy, and other skills and perceptions that will carry through their lifetime. Dolls are a universal toy, playthings that date back at least 4,000 years. People make dolls out of whatever is readily available, shaping them inspired by culture, economic status or materials at hand. Examples of dolls have been found made from cornhusks, bone, stone, wood, porcelain, wax, apples, and now plastic. My submission depicts cuddly dolls, meeting other dolls who don’t share the same backgrounds or opportunities. They meet in a place and time where their identities and their worldview are just beginning to evolve, before they are influenced by doctrine, cultural prejudice, or community superstition. This image represents how important first relationships are to informing acceptance and empathy. Familiarity encourages understanding.

Conference artists shared with the Center on KTDRR these biographical statements. The bios represent their choices about how to describe their expertise.

Marik Berghs

Creating is Marik Berghs’ passion, an extension of her need to understand her world. The underlying theme of her work is the question: how do we manage to share our existence when everyone looks at reality in their own way? The question arose the first time she was made aware of the difference between acceptance and tolerance.

Berghs has been a professional graphic designer, an artist featured in galleries and shows, as well as a published writer since beginning her career in1981. Currently she is focused on a fantasy series accompanied by her artwork.

Learn more about Marik's art online: