Thank you to UBC & VGH Hospital Foundation for featuring me in their January 2016 “Impact” Newsletter!
UBC&VGH Impact Newsletter Jan 2016
https://vghfoundation.ca/stories/the-art-of-giving/
I think a lot of us take our health for granted. But when we don’t have it, or a loved one is sick, we come to know very quickly how important our hospitals are, and appreciate how integral they are to our community. The beauty of life becomes very clear when someone we love is sick, injured or faced with a terminal illness, and we suddenly realize that our health is the only thing that really matters; The getting better, the healing process is the priority. During these times, we need and depend on our hospital, and are counting on the doctors, staff, equipment and the whole facility to do whatever it can to help us or our loved one heal.
I believe it is important for us to support and give back to our hospitals in any way we can, to support this coordinated effort. I am so thankful that VGH has a Gift of Art program, giving artists an opportunity to make a difference and help someone heal. Art can help heal in many different ways:
Lifting the spirits of doctors or staff members as they enter or exit the hospital after a long day of helping people.
It reminds a patient of, or gives them the opportunity to reflect on, a happier moment, and allows them to go to a peaceful place for a few moments. Maybe that feeling stays with them throughout the day or even throughout their stay in the hospital.
It gives a patient a chance for hope, and changes their outlook on their situation.
It may bring a peaceful feeling to a grieving loved one, and change their emotional state.
It could initiate and facilitate a conversation between two people that are grieving together, or between 2 people who have never met; Both are feeling the sadness of a sick loved one, and the painting offers a calm retrieve. Art can bring people together.
Art can indeed help others through a difficult time by helping them heal, and continues to give back to those who experience it. The Gift of Arts program allows me as an artist to give back to my community and to maybe somehow make a difference – I love that!