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Healing Art Brightens Sechelt Hospital
by Jan DeGrass
Remember how the old ambulatory care ward at the Sechelt Hospital used to
look? Dark with unadorned walls. Not anymore. The new, bright corridor and lobby is
alive with colour because of donated artwork from local painters, thanks to a new
program from the Sechelt Hospital Foundation. Gerry Latham, Vice Chair of the
Foundation, is the driving force behind the new Art Committee that founded the
program. She explained that when she saw how Vancouver General Hospital (VGH)
and Lion’s Gate Hospital used their artwork to good effect, she researched the
positive impact of art for healing in the hospital setting.
“It’s calming, the art has energy,” she told the Coast Reporter. “There’s an
opportunity to pause (while viewing it) and leave behind whatever brought you to the
hospital.”
Studies have been done to determine the healing effects of art—there seems to
be no downside. Making and viewing art can reduce cortisone levels that contribute to
stress. It can sharpen the mind by improving focus and diverting anxious thoughts.
Latham turned to the Vice President of VGH to explore the idea of a similar
program in Sechelt. “They shared everything,” she said, “and we customized for our
own hospital.” It took a year to pull the program together. Jane Macdonald, Executive
Director at the hospital, wanted to learn how to proceed in approaching artists for
donations since they are often the first to be asked for gifts to worthy causes and their
donated work is sometimes undervalued at fundraising auctions.
“We wanted to be aware of the culture and the climate,” said Macdonald, “out of
respect for the artists.” Many stepped up to help. The Foundation arranged with Linda
Williams of the Coast Cultural Alliance to organize focus groups of local artists for
consultation and discussion. Stewart Stinson of the Gibsons Public Art Gallery offered
to give the artists a fair market value appraisal of their work. Ruth Rodgers, a Coast
artist, brought her vision to the table as a member of the Hospital’s Art Committee.
“Our artists are also our patients,” reminds Macdonald. “It’s their chance to say
thank you.”
Tentatively the Hospital Foundation joined in on 2017’s Sunshine Coast Art
Crawl to show the work of Shain Jackson whose carved mural is featured in the
tower’s lobby and the artwork of two staff members from the imaging department:
Donna Stewart and Kasia Krolikowska.
“The mural and the attention it gets, demonstrates the power of art,” said
Latham. Stewart’s abstract piece titled Standing Strong now hangs in the board room.
The Art Crawl was a soft opening for the art program. Following its success the
invitation to other artists went out in early December while renovations to ambulatory
care continued.
“We received 40 donated pieces by our deadline in January,” said Macdonald,
clearly delighted with the positive response. The art is not for sale—the Foundation
now owns the work though artists will get a tax receipt and may gain some new fans
when their work is displayed prominently. As soon as the ambulatory care renovation
was finished (over one million of the seven million dollars construction cost was
raised by the Foundation), the artwork was hung in the lobby and along the corridor
close to the chemotherapy and dialysis areas. Reaction was swift and positive, not
only from patients but from staff and physicians who also benefit. Macdonald is happy
to show a gorgeous landscape by artist Carmelo Sortino that sits behind the
admissions clerk visible to anxious visitors and staff.
“One doctor said jokingly that her patients were always late for appointments
now,” said Latham. “They linger, looking at the art.”
Walking through the area today is enjoyable for the health and well-being of
any visitor. Leif Kristian Freed’s work is the first a visitor sees on entering the
lobby—a ship sailing through colourful seas. His art is next to Motoko’s painting, a
colourful splash of sunrise. Suzy Naylor’s Birds painting is dedicated to the memory
of Syd Valentine. Artist Ed Hill is a member of the Foundation’s Art Committee and his
donated work, Sanctuary at Shelter Islets, is refreshing. Works by Fran Ovens are
distinctive for their monoprint process and their themes—such as a canoe on a rocky
island under a strong sun.
There is more to come. A typical Greta Guzek piece, Bright Spirit, waits to be
hung, while a Marlene Lowden large abstract titled Meditation might be the first to
occupy the main admissions corridor. Some pieces have been donated by collectors
or from an artist’s legacy such as the late Gordon Adaskin’s Tangled Edge. A few
await reframing by Cindy Buis’s Sechelt shop.
Though most of the art is upbeat, not all is flowers and blue sky. Some pieces
inspire contemplation—essential to take one’s mind from the rigors of chemo or
dialysis. Julia Dodge’s work called Quarry is dark and intense. “It just pulls me in,”
said Latham. Nadina Tandy’s Waterborn invites meditation. Kasia Krolikowka’s
Miracle of Not Remembering was painted in a complex mood that is also part of the
healing process.
“We’re not art experts,” said Latham, adding that they took care to have a cross
section of the community involved in the Art Committee. “We wouldn’t exist without
the community’s generous donations.”
The Foundation is happy to accept art from donors and has developed a clear
process for giving.
For more information, email sh.foundation@vch.ca or call 604-885-8637.
The art starts here: paintings by Leif Kristian Freed and Motoko share lobby space at
Sechelt Hospital.