30 ICSA TODAY
Award Presentation to
Diana Pletts by William
Goldberg
In 2006, Diana Pletts conceived and organized ICSA’s first exhibit
of artistic works by former cultic-group members. She called the
exhibit The Phoenix Project because the artwork reflected the
struggles of former members trying to recover from sometimes
horrible experiences—like the mythological Phoenix bird that
was reborn from ashes. The exhibit of paintings, poetry, and fiction
at our annual conference in Denver struck a chord with conference
attendees, and Diana has continued to organize exhibits (sometimes
also including original musical compositions, video productions,
and three-dimensional pieces) at subsequent conferences.
Stockholm’s is the seventh Phoenix Project. Others have been
held at ICSA annual conferences in Denver, Brussels, Philadelphia,
New York City, Montreal, and Washington, DC. More than 100
persons from around the world have participated in The Phoenix
Project exhibits.
In 2010 when it began its magazine ICSA Today, ICSA asked Diana
to be the Arts Editor. Over the years, she has helped many former
members share their creative voices with others by publishing
poems, short stories, and visual art in the magazine. The first issue
of 2015 has a particularly rich collection of artistic contributions
from the 2014 annual conference in Washington, DC.
Artistic expressions related to the feelings of former cultic-group
members can sometimes capture or reveal subtleties that elude
2015 Margaret T. Singer Award
ICSA 2015 Annual Conference -Stockholm, Sweden
Award Presentation to
Diana Pletts by William
Goldberg
In 2006, Diana Pletts conceived and organized ICSA’s first exhibit
of artistic works by former cultic-group members. She called the
exhibit The Phoenix Project because the artwork reflected the
struggles of former members trying to recover from sometimes
horrible experiences—like the mythological Phoenix bird that
was reborn from ashes. The exhibit of paintings, poetry, and fiction
at our annual conference in Denver struck a chord with conference
attendees, and Diana has continued to organize exhibits (sometimes
also including original musical compositions, video productions,
and three-dimensional pieces) at subsequent conferences.
Stockholm’s is the seventh Phoenix Project. Others have been
held at ICSA annual conferences in Denver, Brussels, Philadelphia,
New York City, Montreal, and Washington, DC. More than 100
persons from around the world have participated in The Phoenix
Project exhibits.
In 2010 when it began its magazine ICSA Today, ICSA asked Diana
to be the Arts Editor. Over the years, she has helped many former
members share their creative voices with others by publishing
poems, short stories, and visual art in the magazine. The first issue
of 2015 has a particularly rich collection of artistic contributions
from the 2014 annual conference in Washington, DC.
Artistic expressions related to the feelings of former cultic-group
members can sometimes capture or reveal subtleties that elude
2015 Margaret T. Singer Award
ICSA 2015 Annual Conference -Stockholm, Sweden
