The current issue of Muse includes an article by Shirley Madill focusing on the relationship of “Art and Wellness.” Madill’s piece focuses on the role of museums and art galleries in communities, the connection of arts and health, and the wellness benefits associated with public engagement in the arts.
She argues that “Investment in the arts produces important social benefits that have a strong positive impact on both individual and community health.” Madill includes examples of numerous Canadian initiatives that highlight the collaborative partnerships between health organizations and art institutions.
For example, The Art for Healing Foundation aims to bring art into hospitals and other care facilities as a means of creating inspiring, peaceful, and beautiful environments for patients and healthcare workers. Since 2002 the Foundation has been responsible for installing over 8000 works of art in institution across Canada.
The integration of artwork into hospital settings can also be seen at the St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg and their decision to to open the Buhler Gallery in 2007. Located within the Hospital the Buhler Gallery has seen over 75,000 people visit the space with more than a third of the visitors being hospital patients. The Gallery has successfully created a welcoming reflective space for visitors and highlights the intersection of art and healing.
In addition to hospital based art programs, Madill also highlights the benefits of programming created by community galleries that is geared toward people dealing with health issues. The Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, where Madill works, partnered with the local Alzheimer Society to create a “Gather in the Gallery” program. The programming focuses on engaging Alzheimer patients and their caregivers within the gallery space. Current in it’s fourth year this program has been seen as a success by the gallery, Alzheimer Society and its participants.
Overall Madill’s work reminded me a lot of the Journey Women exhibit I was able to be part of in 2014 that focused on using art based healing to create ‘body maps’ which reflected personal healing experiences. The article also made me think about the potential within in many museums and galleries to collaborate with health based organizations. There are tremendous opportunities for engagement, public outreach, and the creation of new programming that is beneficial to both communities and galleries.
If you’re interested in the intersection of art and health I recommend checking out the September/October 2014 issue of Muse as it contains Madill’s excellent piece and others focusing on the role of museums and galleries in health.