Healing Through Art: Nature’s Comfort is the latest art exhibition at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre’s (RVH) David McCullough Hearts and Minds Gallery. Featuring paintings by Cookstown artist Christina Luck, the show is a collaboration between Art@RVH and Georgian College.
As part of their curriculum in the Museum & Gallery Studies program, Georgian students Lexus Avila, Jun Wang and Caleb Wiseman were tasked with installing an art exhibit at RVH. With support from RVH art curator Frances Thomas, the team chose to showcase Christina Luck’s Impressionist-style paintings depicting colourful interpretations of Canadian landscapes.
“This exhibition reflects RVH’s belief that displaying original artwork creates an uplifting environment for patients, staff, volunteers and visitors,” says Gail Hunt, RVH president and CEO. “The fact that it also supports students from our close partner Georgian College makes it even more special.”
While other students from their program worked on installations in museum settings, Avila, Wang and Wiseman took on the challenge of curating for a unique audience.
“From the beginning, we had the mindset that the exhibit had to reach out to the viewer in a therapeutic way,” says Avila. “There had to be a healing aspect to the art.”
Wang says the project was very special and different. “We chose colourful pieces that conveyed good emotions and comfort.”
The paintings from Georgian College’s permanent art collection have “an almost otherworldly landscape that invites the audience in and lets you stay there for a little bit,” says Wiseman.
Art@RVH was established in 2012 to provide enhanced, inspiring, and regenerative experiences for patients, their families, staff, and members of the community during their visiting and working hours. The committee oversees the planning and management of art acquisitions, loans, and displays of art and art-related objects throughout RVH as well as ancillary arts programming.
“It has been a real pleasure working with Georgian faculty along with students Lexus, Caleb and Jun,” says Thomas. “From initially meeting with the team to the final installation, the students have worked hard to complement RVH’s vision of patient-centred care. I hear from staff and the public all the time that they love seeing the artwork around RVH, often sharing that it made their day.”
The exhibition will run until mid-June.
