Art for Everyone - Misericordia Health Centre
MHC offers short and long-term care to a diverse population of adults, many of whom live with various forms of physical and cognitive disability. Misericordia operates transitional care as well as long-term care. Each week, with the assistance of a team of local artists (Natalie Baird, Francesca Carella Arfinengo, Hannah Doucet, and Toby Gillies ) and Recreation Professionals, the patients gather to make art. Art for Everyone has given patients and residents the opportunity to have meaningful engagement with each other around the art table, and the surrounding community, through collaboration with youth and public art show events. For patients at MHC art making can be a powerful and affirming activity that addresses their need to assert themselves as individuals, connect to community, and exercise their independence. It’s also just a wonderful way to spend a bit of time. The program has been running from 2013 - present.
Thanks to generous support of the Manitoba Arts Council and the Misericordia Health Centre Foundation
Art at Misericordia documentation video (2017)
How to do What You Do to be You (2019-2022)
“How to Do What You Do To Be You” was the theme of a series of art making gatherings where we shared and celebrated our individual skills, desires and life-long experiences. We collected advice, instructions and special tips through drawing and storytelling and then designed the selection of work you see here. This experience helped us connect to each other and to the things we love to do the most - what makes our lives most worth living. We asked one another:
What are you really good at doing? What is your favourite thing to enjoy? Do you have any advice to give for someone who wants to try it? What are the steps needed to do or enjoy the thing you like the most?
An online version of the collection is available here:
HEIRLOOM (2016)
A ceramic artwork installed on the Misericordia Health Centre rooftop garden, using botanical illustration as a way to discover and record individual drawing styles of seniors living in care (2016)
documentation of HEIRLOOM process and installaition