Athena’s first exhibit in 2013 is with the Gifts of Art program of the University of Michigan Health System. This is an exciting venue for Athena’s 110th anniversary year. Forty three artists are participating. Eighty three pieces of artwork were car pooled up to the health system’s  loading dock. The exhibit will run from April 15 to June 10 at Taubman Health Center, South Lobby, Floor 1 in the hospital complex at 1500 East Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Hours are

8 a.m.-8 p.m. Athena has chosen a variety of media and content to reflect their “Visions of Serenity.” Calming representational and abstract images, landscape scenes and figures evoke viewers memories and feelings. Above are some of the artists creations shown in the exhibit.
The artists are Virginia Kretz, Marti Osnowitz, Arla Reitz, Ellie Miller, Donna Powers, Joan Palombi, Ellen Loeffler-Kalinoski, Marjory Smella, Carol Connolly Pletz, and Ann Hymel.

One of the first and most comprehensive arts in healthcare programs nationwide, Gifts of Art brings the world of art and music to the University of Michigan Health System. Gifts of Art program utilizes the arts to assist and enhance the healing process, reduce stress, support human dignity and renew the spirit. Nine galleries rotate over 50 exhibits a year, including two and three-dimensional spaces that are viewed by approximately 10,000 people each day. The artwork is displayed by some of the finest artists in the region, and is richly diverse in style, medium, form and subject. Athena’s exhibit will be part of this tradition. An Art Cart program lends framed poster art to the patients and gives them a sense of control over their environment. The images can have a profound effect on the their hospital experience.

Weekly performances in music, theater and dance take place in the hospital system. They showcase the best of regional talent, as well as touring international performers. Also specially trained musicians bring live music to the bedsides of patients to help calm and comfort them, their families and caregivers. The Friends Meditation Garden is another part of the program providing restorative comfort and hospitality within the medical setting—a special place to rest, be quiet, and commune with nature to sustain the spirit.

We are grateful to the Gifts of Art program for inviting us to exhibit and for their integration of art in health care. We hope you will take the opportunity to travel to Ann Arbor to view the exhibit. Visit their website to find out more about Gifts of Art’s other programs and explore their exhibits page: www.med.umich.edu/goa.