By Jack Becker, Forecast Public Art

Art heals. Whether it’s a creative chance to focus away from pain or to communicate suffering that has no words, art offers healing to both artists and audiences. Art that heals is not restricted to hospitals or medical centers; it’s happening everywhere, all the time. The theme of last spring’s issue of Public Art Review was “The Art of Healing,” investigating the many ways that artists work in communities to help people, cities and environments to heal. One of the feature articles can be found on our website: Building Healthy Cities.

As we were planning this issue, we learned more about the cutting edge arts and healing community here in the Twin Cities, which turns out to be one of the largest and best connected in the country. With all the arts and medical talent in this region, it’s no wonder.

Forecast Public Art—in addition to publishing Public Art Review magazine, offering grants to Minnesota artists and organizing education and community engagement activities in the Twin Cities—provides consulting services to a broad range of public and private entities. One of our long term clients is the Multicultural Arts Committee of Hennepin County, with whom we have organized a wide variety of exhibits and events for the Government Center in downtown Minneapolis. When the time came to plan the most recent exhibit, we shared what we’d learned about the arts and healing community and a group called the Midwest Arts in Healthcare Network (MAIHN).

The result was Creative Care: Arts + Healing in the Twin Cities, a three month exhibition at the Hennepin Gallery (November 4, 2013 through January 29, 2014). The broad spectrum of organizations featured in the exhibition and related programming reflected the many artistic disciplines and approaches to healing, and demonstrated that the arts play a valuable role in the daily lives of all citizens.

The show featured visual displays, noon-time performances, lectures, screenings and lively panel discussions. There was also a large floor labyrinth made with colored painter’s tape—perhaps the only labyrinth in an American Government Center. Photos of the exhibition are available on the County’s website.

The exhibition received some great media coverage, including this overview by Anna Pratt for The Line. An informative video tour of the show was produced by www.twelve.tv of Brooklyn Park MN (note: starts at the 16 minute mark).

In addition to support from Hennepin Health and Hennepin Healthworks, Creative Care received sponsorship support from Corporate Art Force, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota and Clear Channel Outdoor, which provided digital billboard promotion of the project. It is estimated that more than 25,000 people viewed the show during its three-month run.