What is Arts & Health?
Arts & Health, sometimes called Arts in Medicine, or Arts & Wellness, is a field which utilizes the power of the arts to promote individual and community well-being.
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Engaging with the arts, and our own creativity, can help to alleviate anxiety, depression, promote good physical health, and help advance health equity. The arts connect us to ourselves, to one another, and the world around us, which fosters a sense of self, purpose, and reduces feelings of loneliness and isolation.
From SEEN: A Hospital-wide Self-Portrait on Mental Health and Belonging,
Project/Exhibition, Jan. - June 2023 psychiatric hospital, Rhode Island
Let’s Connect!
Do you want to learn more about Arts & Health, or are you interested in integrating the arts into your health, community, organization, or business setting, on a project, or ongoing basis? Do you need support in the visioning, development or implementation of an Arts & Health project or program?
Fill out the contact form to start an arts & health conversation.
Offerings are customized with your needs in mind. Some examples, for inspiration:
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Art Workshop Facilitation
For clients, patients and/or staff in healthcare, community, business, and conference settings. (Wendy herself offers visual arts, creative writing, and poetry workshops)
Vision & Strategy
Wendy looks forward to being able to support, guide and co-create in regards to vision, program design and development, budgets, program implementation, and possible funding resources for an arts & health project, program, and other creative wellness-related offerings.
Artist Referrals
Wendy can also make artist referrals for facilitators of dance/movement, storytelling, poetry, music, visual arts workshops, and, with attention to cultural relevance.
Presentations
Wendy loves to co-present with others doing work in the Arts and Health, and related arenas. Available for presentations in medical, mental health, community, school, and business settings.
Visiting artists, Haus of Glitter Dance Collective, get Zumba lesson from hospital staff, Staff Wellness Series, May 2023
Work and Affiliations
With over twenty-five years of experience in the arts and health arena, here are just a few of the many programs, organizations, and presentations, Wendy has founded, developed, implemented, and been a part of:
Arts and Health Consultant for Lit Arts RI - (Fall 2023 - Spring 2024) serving as consultant/liaison for Teaching Artists for this non-profit organization’s, Cultivating Care Through Restorative Narratives Series. (Lit Arts RI supports Rhode Island's creators of the written, spoken and illustrated word through community events, free and low-cost business services and coworking space.)
Coordinator, Healing Arts Program, Butler Hospital - (present) developed this program after founder, Barbara Ostrove piloted it’s origin at this psychiatric hospital in Providence, RI. Initiated and built the hospital’s Artist-in-Residence program which brings in a diversity of visual artists, musicians, storyteller, poets, dance/movement artists to facilitate workshops with our patients, caregivers, and more recently, with hospital staff. Co-produced with Laura White Carpenter, two hospital wide art projects with exhibitions highlighting the important role each member of the hospital community holds. Innovated and implemented the first, Art in PAS (Patient Assessment Services admissions area) program, where Wendy facilitated weekly art sessions in this acute waiting room setting, in effort to reduce anxiety, irritation, and elevate depressed mood of patients and caregivers, and reduce stress for staff working in PAS.
Art Workshop Facilitator - (1990 - present) Wendy has procured grants to facilitate workshops in Providence, RI, at a women’s shelter, for the transitional housing residents under the same homeless services organization, and for a girls’ group home, between 2008 - 2017. She procured grants, and collaborated with organizational staff and clients to create, facilitate, and document/report on programming.
Community Poetry - (2010 - present) Wendy has used community poetry, to bring people together in a variety of settings, including the social media space. The process invites group members to contribute a line of poetry associated with a theme, and then Wendy, and/or group, weaves each contributor’s lines together to create one cohesive poem which harmoniously reflects its multitude of voices.
Founder, Director - fresh art, (1998 - 2003) a non-profit organization in New York City which produced exhibitions, and provided entrepreneurship opportunities for artists participating in art programs in social service agencies, and facilitated art workshops in community spaces where programming did not exist. fresh art featured the works of artists creating in homeless shelters, supportive housing for formerly houseless adults with mental health issues, recovery programs, senior residences, and youth programs.
Affiliations
Rhode Island Arts and Health Advisory Group and RIArts and Health Network Steering Committee - Both grew from a partnership between the RI Department of Health and the RI State Council on the Arts, which developed the country’s first State Arts and Health Plan.
A Glimpse of an Arts and Health
Program Series
Staff Wellness Series, Printmaking with Artist-in-Residence, Walker Mettling, and Viola Concert with Artist-in Residence, Ashley Frith psychiatric hospital, Winter 2023
Printmaker, artist-in-residence, Walker Mettling, demonstrates to mental health staff how to pull a print.
Proud staff member after pulling her print, an illustration of hospital’s garden, created by Walker.
Artist-in-Residence, violist, Ashley Frith, performs mini-concert in hospital’s Arboretum, Staff Wellness Series, 2023
Testimonials
“At the time in PAS (Patient Intake in psychiatric hospital), during those peak hours, a lot was happening, shift report, shift change, majority of patient transfers enroute or arriving from other facilities, and restraints were always at an all-time high during those hours. Patients who have waited over several hours for an inpatient bed were watching their staff leave (end of their shift) and were at their maximum limits of having patience. Now bringing in a therapy program in at that time was risky, but nevertheless we approached it with delicacy.
Now at the time, I knew who Wendy was and I would always say Hi, but I really didn’t know how magnificent Wendy was! She had in immediate impact on our department. Right away, communication among us, the Intake Coordinators and other PAS staff improved! Instantly, I came away with a renewed belief in the value and the important role that music and art therapy can play in our psychiatric hospital and among our team. I was also deeply moved by the connection patients and Wendy had. Never have I believed more in the power of music and art to transcend words and connect people; this grant/program in PAS restored and reaffirmed my faith in music, art and its affects on people. To top things off, not only did we have better communication in PAS during what was the most chaotic time; but we had more structure and I’m pretty sure we had ZERO restraints during Wendy’s time in PAS!!!!” - Staff, psychiatric hospital
“Knowing Wendy, she has always been a representation of someone who is passionate about mental health and art. Wendy’s remarkable fusion of both mental health and art has not only impacted our workplace, but communities of people. Wendy’s compassion has no limits. Her willingness to listen has touched so many lives that she herself may not even know.”
“Wendy’s energy speaks for itself. She not only uses art as an instrument to advocate for mental health, but tirelessly advocates for a culture of acceptance for all. May Wendy’s creativity, and advocacy continue to enrich our lives and elevate our shared commitment to mental wellness.”
- Karina S., Social Worker
“Thank you for coordinating this (Haus of Glitter Dance Collective dance party, Staff Wellness Series) event..honestly we raved about it all afternoon, and in our shift meeting..” - Social worker, pscyhiatric hospital
“The Healing Arts program is amazing and has been one of the most engaging experiences for the patients” – Nurse Manager, psychiatric hospital