What August Taught Me

I know I'm not the only person who felt August melt away like an ice cube in hot water. But still, some progress has been made in spite of heat-induced lethargy. I had some wonderful conversations this month, learning so much about different aspects of this gargantuan project.

At the end of July, my fabulous cousin Michael introduced me to an incredible art gallery owner who graciously gave me time and expert opinion. I learned about the commercial art gallery landscape (financially driven), the non-profit art gallery landscape (also financially driven), and came to understand that the best bet at finding a venue (free of cost) would be to look elsewhere. I got some very silly (and not so silly) questions answered such as: can I use command strips for the art installation? (yes!); how long does it take to mount an exhibition? (shockingly short turnaround time between shows); and how realistic is my hope to have an institution acquire the collection to archive (it's likely a dream)?

He also put me in touch with an incredible artist / art therapist who I was very eager to speak with. One of my worries about this project was how to host art-making events for survivors effectively, sensitively, and safely. When I spoke with her, she emphasized the importance of ensuring everyone knows that this isn't a therapy session, confirming that people have plans / support in place to deal with their feelings, and providing a list a resources for those who need them. She also suggested a structure where we check in, make art with support as needed, and then check out with reflections. I appreciated so much hearing how she distinguishes between working with people as an artist vs working with them as a therapist.

Not only did I learn so much from her, but she also connected me with someone very special, whose work intercepts ours in interesting ways. He is Ted Meyer, Artists Patient Advocate, Artist in Residence at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and an epic artist and curator. Seriously, go to his website (www.tedmeyer.com) and see what cool stuff he's doing!

Specifically, his art around traumatic medical experiences really resonates with the mission of Hear Us NOW. He uplifts the voices of affected individuals and influences the medical establishment to attend to their specific needs with care and understanding. Similarly, Hear Us NOW seeks to center the voices of survivors in all institutions that serve them - from criminal justice, social services, lawmaking - to ensure their needs met and their dignity respected.

So besides just plain inspiring me, Ted also drew my attention to the idea of bringing the art to the intended audience. Hiss work at the intersection of art and medicine happens right there at a medical school! While my heart has our show at a very specific and wonderful community space, the exhibition might be more effective if we reached out more directly to the people who need to see it. Ted suggested gallery spaces at universities, which I later researched and discovered so many interesting locations/possibilities! This definitely seems like the right direction for this project.

Strangely, I'm not overly concerned about finding the venue just yet. I feel confident we can find a great spot when the time comes. Yes, we need to act on it soon. But as nice as it would be to nail that down and have it out of the way, there are more pressing priorities. This isn't just an art exhibition. And right now, to achieve the full mission, we need to reach out more to people who don't consider themselves artists. That is how we are inclusive and complete. And, next time, I'll give an update about what we are doing to reach non-artists and build the broadest possible community. Bye for now!