BE WELL

Join Us For Opening Night
July 23 | 6-8pm

What does it mean to BE WELL?  What do we need to be safe, healthy, and WHOLE?  How can we more fully approach the acts of caregiving and caretaking?  How do art, culture, and artists impact well-being?  Can any of us truly be well if our neighbors and society as a whole are broken?  These are a few of the questions that this exhibition and related programs explore, with artists serving as our guides.

Paintings, posters, political cartoons, and poetry provide powerful glimpses into the lived experiences of artists, while also amplifying the reciprocal and interdependent relationship between self and community.  There are examples of how abstraction, the human body, fragments of history, the written word, political commentary, and the natural environment can all serve as vehicles for exploring and proclaiming ‘this is who I am, this is what I require and desire to BE WELL’.  The lived experiences of these artists — deeply informed by gender, ethnicity, race, place, illness, and disability — illuminate our collective condition.  As healers, truth-tellers, and visionaries, they invite us to consider the private, public, and political conditions that support or hinder our well-being.

There is no denying that the experience of COVID-19 has impacted us individually and collectively, exemplifying the consequences of scarcity of access, lack of human-centered policy, the power of misinformation, and our physical and emotional isolation.  Yet, the experience has also illuminated the possibility and power of reimagining how we protect and care for one another, amid the many learnings and losses that evolved out of this public health crisis.

It is in this emergent place where we see our remarkable potential while honoring the deep wounds that still need binding.  This is a collective, but not complete, recipe for wellness that embraces ancient knowings, modern progress, and the critical importance of universal human rights.  We also recognize a current reality where our well-being is heavily influenced by climate change, gun violence, lack of mental health resources, food insecurity, racial inequity, a loss of abortion access, and the insidious nature of white supremacy.

We believe the works and stories offered up by the artists in this exhibition are a part of the solution. This space will be a place of restoration, respite, and connection – to self and others – as well as inspiration to act and create the conditions where we can all BE WELL

ARTISTS
Dimelza Broche  |  Barbara Colaciello  |  Keion Davis  |  April Fitzpatrick  |  Ed Hall  |  Sandra Murphy-Pak  |  Nina Yagual  |  Ebony Payne-English, Poet

COLLABORATORS
Amplifier  |  BABS’ LAB  |  Center for Arts in Medicine  |  Center for Sustainable Agricultural Excellence and Conservation  |  Mayo Clinic Lyndra P. Daniel Center for Humanities in Medicine

And much love to the beautiful Yellow House community of artists, activists, volunteers, contributors, educators, healers, families, and neighbors.