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Where We All Live
“Bringing art and people together is essential to the health of a community. ”
— Glen Sanford
For many, walking into a cold, clinical hospital space can be an alienating experience.
At the North Island Hospital in Courtenay, British Columbia, that’s not the case—thanks to a series of art installations evoking powerful images from local nature that provide comfort to patients, workers and visitors alike.
It all began when the Comox Valley Art Gallery started curating artwork for the newly constructed hospital in close cooperation with hospital employees, individuals from the local K’ómoks First Nation and a nearby elementary school in 2017.
A range of pieces soon emerged, honouring the Indigenous medicinal plants and cultural healing practices in a region of British Columbia that includes mountains, farmlands and beaches.
Peppered throughout the hospital—from the main welcome hall and the chemotherapy centre to various waiting areas and the psychiatry ward—the artwork today creates a sense of care, contemplation and gratitude for nature’s role in supporting the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of all who enter.
It is all part of a series of projects led by the Gallery to expand its mandate and, after 50 years in the Valley, deepen its level of engagement by getting art out into the local community.
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Photo by Alun Macanulty. Photo courtesy of the Comox Valley Art Gallery.
“I think it’s important for a gallery to be accessible and welcoming,” explains Denise Lawson, the Gallery’s director of curatorial programming.
“You don’t want people to feel like they need to be highly literate in art to experience it—art is for everyone. So, we try to understand the issues in our community… ask what people are doing and what they want from art projects. We’re not just about people coming into our gallery; we go out.”
Thanks to this flexible mindset, the list of community-friendly efforts led by the Gallery runs long.
It includes projects giving youth their first experience preparing an exhibition, projects with Indigenous communities to support their exploration of healing and oppression, as well as a program focused on climate and the local community’s relationship with water.
Perhaps their most emotionally charged initiative is the one that shines a light on the experience of those in society who are often overlooked.
Walk With Me
For those living at the heart of the toxic drug crisis, getting the chance to tell their story, to feel heard and to connect is rare.
But creating chances is exactly what inspires Walk With Me, a partnership project between the Gallery, local health researchers and people with lived experience.
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Photo by Caresse Nadeau. Photo courtesy of the Comox Valley Art Gallery.
The idea is to bring together people impacted by the crisis to share stories and create drawings, poems, songs and photos that speak to their experience.
The art is then made public through presentations as well as guided journeys known as “story walks,” which use wireless headsets to guide participants through an audio journey around these stories as they walk in reflective outdoor spaces.
This 45-minute soundscape activity ends with people sitting together in an Elder-led sharing circle, talking about what they have just experienced.
The impact of the Walk With Me project has been so powerful that it is being used more and more by people trying to learn more about the crisis, including local politicians, healthcare workers and nursing students—and it is expanding to multiple British Columbia communities beyond the Valley area.
“I think the success of this initiative comes from taking an arts-based approach to a contentious social issue where people often have fixed opinions. By sharing the stories of those living this crisis, we help to break down stigma,” explains Glen Sanford, the Gallery’s Executive Director.
While the Gallery enjoys a friendly reputation, Glen says it is not afraid to tackle tough subjects like the toxic drug poisoning crisis.
“As a gallery, we’re aware of a larger responsibility around art and creativity. Bringing art and people together is essential to the health of a community. Tackling tough issues is really about dialogue.”
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Photo by Caresse Nadeau. Photo courtesy of the Comox Valley Art Gallery.
Council support
According to Glen, funding from the Canada Council for the Arts has been an important catalyst for the Gallery.
“There’s an increased expectation on galleries these days and having stable operational funding is crucial in the challenges of today’s world,” he says.
“Council support is essential to the work we do and helps us to leverage additional funds for projects that respond to needs in the communities where we all live.”