by
Dick Averns
On the heels of the recent Alberta Museums Association (AMA) conference, As a Whole: Well-being, Health, and Museums, it’s refreshing to learn that November is recognized in many communities as Arts and Health Month. The goals for this event, as noted by Arts Health Network Canada, are “to promote the integration of the arts—including literary, performing, and visual arts and design—into a wide variety of healthcare and community settings for therapeutic, educational, and expressive purposes.”
Leading the way in Alberta is Edmonton, with Mayor Don Iveson issuing a City
Proclamation on November 1. This was presented at the McMullen Gallery, located
at University of Alberta Hospital, by Councillor Jon Dziadyk.
For
the proclamation launch, speakers in addition to Councillor Dziadyk represented
a wide range of constituents, including Tyler Sherard, Executive Director of
the Friends of University Hospitals (the managing organization for McMullen
Gallery); Amelda Foster, Executive Director of the University of Alberta
Hospitals (UAH); Sparrow Grace, a musician and staff artist at UAH;
Meaghan Patterson, Executive Director of the AMA; and myself, Dick Averns, an
exhibiting artist in the current McMullen Gallery show, This Art Makes Me Feel….
 |
| This Art Makes Me Feel... at McMullen Gallery.1 Image courtesy of Ellen Cunningham. |
 |
| Adrian Stimson, Buffalo Boy, 2004. Image courtesy of Dick Averns. |
I
highlight these speakers not by way of making a laundry list, but to illustrate
the degree of commitment towards a genuinely interdisciplinary collaboration.
Politicians, health executives, museum professionals, and artists came together
for the benefit of broader communities—wholeness in action!
The
gathering also included representatives from the Canadian Mental Health
Association Edmonton Textiles Group, the Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts,
CRIPSiE (Collaborative Radically Integrated Performers Society in Edmonton),
and the Arts and Humanities in Health and Medicine program at the U of A. These
constituents all demonstrate the breadth and depth of practices situated in
Edmonton, and further highlight the relevance of the programming at McMullen
Gallery.
The activities
and initiatives at McMullen Gallery are a cogent example for how to embody
designations such as Arts and Health Month as everyday practices. For
those who attended the AMA’s 2019 Conference, McMullen Gallery may ring a bell
as the host of the pre-conference program.
During
the pre-conference, delegates saw Integrated Art Collections Placements in the
University of Alberta Hospital, visited the McMullen Gallery, and undertook activities
presented by the Artists on the Wards program staff. The pre-conference program
was convened by Ellen Cunningham, Collections Manager at McMullen / Friends of
University Hospitals; Chrystal Plante, Indigenous Coordinator for the Stollery
Awasisak Indigenous Health Program; and Shirley Serviss, Staff Literary Artist
with the Friends of University Hospitals/Artists on the Wards Program.
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| Touring the Integrated Arts Placements at the U of A Hospitals. Image courtesy of Dick Averns. |
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| Pre-conference workshop at the U of A Hospitals. Image courtesy of Dick Averns. |
Attendees
learned from Ellen about the incredible collection of 2,000 artworks owned by
the Friends of University Hospitals, many of which are in curated displays
throughout the hospital in public, patient, and employee settings. Touring the
site afforded firsthand experience of displayed artworks, including visits to
an Indigenous family room for patient visitors and an Aboriginal Gathering room
replete with murals and daily smudging ceremonies.
 |
| Sanctuary at McMullen Gallery, featuring work by Noemi de Bruijn and Julya Hajnoczky.2 Image courtesy of Ellen Cunningham. |
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| This Art Makes Me Feel... at McMullen Gallery.3 Image courtesy of Ellen Cunningham. |
Complementing
these initiatives is the incredible Artists on the
Wards program supported by five professional
artists, all employed on .5 FTE contracts, delivering personalized artistic
experiences to patients on the wards. A mix of literary, visual art, and
musical activities are offered, providing spirited, meditative, and holistic
experiences for patients and families during times when conventional medicine
may not nourish all needs.
In
conclusion, the high level of collection management, exhibitions, and active
programming is unique within Alberta Health Services settings. These
initiatives, along with awareness opportunities such as Arts and Health
Month, stand as models for adoption elsewhere and as evidence of the value
and benefits for functioning As a Whole.
---
Author
Dick Averns is the Curatorial Coordinator for the University of Calgary
Founders’ Gallery, located at The Military Museums in Calgary. For the 2019 AMA
Conference, he was both a member of Conference Program Committee and Keynote
Moderator. He is a practising artist, regular reviewer of art for publications
including Canadian Art and Galleries West, and he also works part-time as
Engagement Coordinator for CARFAC Alberta.
---
1. Pictured (left to right):
- Dick
Averns, Canadian Airman Duff, 2009
-
Karen Brownlee, Abstract Grain Elevators #1, 2002
- Tim
Okamura, The Elevator, 2003
- Lori
Lukasewich, Good Dog, 2010
-
Gloria Mok, Landscape of the Mind #3, 1993
2. Paintings by Noemi de Bruijn (left to right):
Adirondack, Homesick, Boathouse, Triumvirate, and
A House on A Rock
Sculpture by Julya Hajnoczky:
On Plinths: Glenmore Reservoir 1, Glenmore Reservoir 2
Sculpture by Julya Hajnoczky:
On Plinths: Glenmore Reservoir 1, Glenmore Reservoir 2
On
Wall: Pacific Rim 3, Pacific Rim 4, Barrier Lake 2, Kokanee
Creek
3. Pictured (left to right):
- Lori
Lukasewich, Good Dog, 2010
-
Gloria Mok, Landscape of the Mind #3, 1993
- Eric
Moschopedis, A Body for Bears, A Body for Lightning (A Quilt for Danny
Kelly), 2012
- John
Hall, WHAM!, 2010
-
David Svendsen, Incommunicado, 1991
- Dawn
Detarando, Prairie Rubbers, 2009
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