Supported by Vanderbilt University's Curb Center for Art, Enterprise & Public Policy and the  Masters of Public Health Program, the Art of Healing Exposition featuring works from the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) Art to Act for Health will premiere September 2021 and run through December 2022. The Exposition will take place at sites throughout Nashville, showcasing the exciting ways in which our community is using creative arts to foster healing in their own everyday lives and neighborhoods.

 

Since March 2020 members of the Vanderbilt University and Medical Center communities, the middle Tennessee region, our nation and the world have had to grapple with the global Covid-19 pandemic. Our individual, family, community, and professional lives have changed radically as initial fears have given way to the realities of a 'new normal', leaving many of us scared, scarred, and forever changed.

 

The Art of Healing  Exposition will explore the ways the pandemic has changed us, providing our campus and local community with 18 months of creative, educational, and explorative opportunities designed to examine how we have navigated the unprecedented changes and challenges our society continues to face, especially as it relates to all aspects of our physical and mental well-being.  Conversations centered on care disparities, health access, and exploring the arts to express complex emotions which may be difficult to voice in these acrimonious times will be given a platform through the show to facilitate healing and promote hope.

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In addition to featuring art created by local professional artists, workshop participants, clinical staff, and patients, and the community the Art of Healing will feature physical and video installations from World Health Organization project manager and artist Isabelle Wachsmuth.   Her paintings, photography, video installations and writings speak to healthcare on a global level, focusing on the transformation process needed to strengthen health systems and health service delivery, Universal Health,  and the ways in which art can be an utilized as a transformational strategy for greater public good.