A new initiative at Bruyère Health is preparing artists to work in health and community care settings by using creativity to support health and well-being. Bruyère recently launched its new Arts in Health training program with the Ottawa Art Gallery, which seeks to connect local artists with residents in long-term care. “We see the connections to wellbeing, pain management and how effective art is,” said Kelly Eyamie, manager of art and wellbeing with the Ottawa Art Gallery. On Friday, Bruyère Health welcomed artists taking part in the Ottawa Art Gallery’s training program for a collaborative visual art and storytelling workshop with residents. Organizers say the partnership between Bruyère Health and the art gallery benefits both patients and artists. “When you’re doing an art project together with other people, it’s not about your diagnosis. It’s about you,” said Bruyère Health physician, Dr. Carol Wiebe. Wiebe is also the founder of Radical Connections, a non-profit now housed at the Ottawa Art Gallery that trains new artists who want to work in health care. For someone spending weeks or months in a hospital, art can make days brighter and become a break from everyday routines. “Hospitals can be places of a lot of sadness and a lot of suffering. But this brings joy and it brings people together, and it reminds them that they’re more than just a patient,” said Brenda Cleary, an artist and a nurse. As part of the workshop, patients created artwork that will be displayed in the hospital. “I feel very creative, I feel very important, I feel very good,” said Gloria Feldman, who has been at the hospital for eight months. “Sharing things that other people will see.”
