Be Moved by ART at Bruyère
10/20/2020
Culture Days, a nationwide initiative to celebrate arts and culture, is a series of participatory events inviting the public to dive into a world of wonder where artist and makers highlight the importance of arts and culture in their communities. This year, Bruyère is proud to be a part of Culture Days in Ontario, in a series of creative community interactive pieces, collectively presented as
Be Moved by ART at Bruyère.
Saint-Vincent Hospital, the main site of Be Moved by ART at Bruyère, is Ottawa’s sole complex continuing care hospital.
Thanks to the organizational efforts of
Bruyère’s artist-in-residence, cj fleury, Be Moved by ART at Bruyère is featuring four programs, both as a part of the larger community of Ottawa, but also as a part of the intimate community among Saint-Vincent’s population. In line with Culture Days’ mandate, this creates an opportunity to eliminate barriers to access and participation.
“There are so many vibrant and interesting patients at Saint-Vincent, and there is much more art in the hospital than people realize,” says Signi Schneider, a dedicated volunteer with these initiatives. “We wanted a project that would bring the two together.”
Many of the pieces at Saint-Vincent were created by a range of patients, families, employees, and volunteers. In many cases, the art projects are a means of giving patients agency. Now, new art installations brighten the hospital and offer an imaginative adventure for patients and visitors, sparking wonder, appreciation, and a fresh understanding of arts and culture.
“What can patients and family members do when they get together for a visit that can create engagement, create cultural discussion, and build a sense of belonging?” asks cj fleury. “Whether it’s for the visitor or the patient, we’ve tied this into what people can do together.”
Spaces for arts and culture conjure up the images of our museums and galleries, but just as many – if not more – of our community members flow in and out of our health care spaces each day compared to galleries. The art on Bruyère sites connects people to each other, and connects people to places – the place many of our citizens call home.
Be Moved by ART at Bruyère features four programs as a part of Culture Days, and will continue to be a part of the Saint-Vincent Hospital after the event is over.
- Local Worlds: Site, Space, Society, Science – a photography exhibit within Saint-Vincent’s new Screening Gallery, now available online
- Walk’n’Roll ART Hunt – curated pieces and questions for reflection throughout Saint-Vincent, now available online
- ART Tour for Beside Art Fans – an online experience of Saint-Vincent’s many art pieces, made accessible for those who are bedbound through tablets, and to the general public through the online album
- Two-Metre Tour – a self-guided scavenger hunt open to the general public to find the ARTful physical distance markers outside of Bruyère’s main site