Hospitals are some of Toronto’s most vital institutional developments, but as places where both patients and staff spend some of their hardest and most emotional days, they can be pretty bleak at times.
In an effort to bring creativity and positivity into these spaces, two Toronto hospitals will soon be home to major new art installations intended to amplify health and healing, at no cost to the hospitals.
Much like the granite slab art piece in the lobby of the Roserock Place office building (121 King St. W) or the 80-ft digital art installation in the atrium of the Berczy Square building (33 Yonge St.), the art pieces will breath life into a places not traditionally known for their warmth and whimsy.
Public art not only revitalizes often sterile environments using colour and creativity, it dignifies and uplifts built spaces across the city, assigning them a distinct character and offering beauty and enjoyment to those who live, work, and heal in these spaces.
The two art pieces are being provided by RxART Canada, the Canadian arm of RxART — a not-for-profit organization that was founded in New York City in 2002 when several art pieces from artists like Wolfgang Tillmans, Mel Bochner, and Jessica Stockholder were donated to Rockefeller University Hospital.
Now, the organization is making its Canadian debut with the delivery of two art pieces to be unveiled at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and UHN’s West Park Healthcare Centre on April 8.
“RxART is thrilled to extend our mission to Canada, bringing health and healing through museum-quality art installations in hospital settings,” says Diane Brown, Founder and President of RxART and RxArt Canada. “We are delighted to collaborate with talented Canadian artists from coast to coast, enriching healthcare environments with works that offer beauty and comfort. Our hope is that these installations will inspire joy in patients, families, staff, and everyone who encounters them.”
The art pieces come from celebrated Canadian artists Jordan Bennett and Elizabeth McIntosh. Bennett is a Newfoundland-based Mi’kmaq artist whose work “centres on Mi’kmaq and Beothuk culture, often addressing themes of land, language, and family histories,” while McIntosh is a Vancouver-based artist who “creates exuberant, large-scale paintings that play with colour and form, challenging historical art traditions while embracing improvisation and freedom,” according to a press release.
Bennett’s vibrant Blueberries with Nan will find its new home at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. The large painting “blends cultural symbols with contemporary forms, creating a powerful visual narrative of colour, growth and resilience,” says the press release. Bennett explains that blueberries are shared at feasts as a symbolic gesture in Mi’kmaq culture. For him, blueberries represent healing, power and hope, and sharing this art piece symbolizes him charing his medicine.
Blueberries with Nan by Jordan Bennett
Blueberries with Nan by Jordan Bennett
At West Park Healthcare Centre, McIntosh’s multi-wall installation Inside Out is inspired by traditional French domestic wallpaper and includes elements from a Matisse drawing. The French wallpaper element is meant to “create a warm and welcoming environment that evokes a sense of home,” while the Matisse elements include abstracted landscapes “as a reference to a world beyond hospital walls.”
Inside Out by Elizabeth McIntosh
Inside Out by Elizabeth McIntosh
Inside Out by Elizabeth McIntosh
Bennett’s Blueberries with Nan will be unveiled on April 8 at 11:30 am at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and a reception will be held at UHN’s West Park Healthcare Centre from 5pm to 7:30 pm to celebrate McIntosh’s installation.
Following this Canadian debut, RxART Canada has plans to continue providing Toronto hospitals with original art pieces, including an upcoming installation with specialty hospital Casey House.