Expressing creativity and boosting spirits: Bruyere's Artist-in-Residence program
On the wall by the main elevator at Bruyère’s Saint-Vincent Hospital is a colourful display of expression—a mural curated through its Artist-in-Residence program.
"I look at this project as kind of a social activism to that side of the wall because they deserve culture and they deserve those experiences," said the program's first artist, cj fleury. "It wasn't just a one size fits all. It really had a lot to do with the spirit of the person and their particular capacities and interests."
The program is designed for patients and residents of all abilities to take part in the creative process whether it's through visual arts, drama, dance or music.
"They started to see these other facets of their personality. Then they started to talk to each other about art and sometimes have new conversations with the patients or with me about what creativity could be …there was this whole conversation growing in the hospital," fleury said.
The project continued and was adapted through the pandemic—with bright distancing markers painted on sidewalks.
"They were talking about art, they were talking about something other than their disease, they were doing something that had nothing to do with their chronic illnesses," said Dr. Carol Wiebe, the head of the program.
Projects included the mural, flowers and a series of letters that created a message of thanks hanging in the atrium.
One of the displays at Bruyère’s Saint-Vincent Hospital thanks to its Bruyère’s Artist-in-Residence cj fleury. (Katie Griffin / CTV News Ottawa)
"There were like six of them down in their wheelchairs on the atrium floor and I was on the various levels of the five-level stairway and they're calling up going 'no, a little bit to the left, bring it up on the right,'" said fleury, laughing.
Wiebe said the program has helped transform care. Evidence of how it has made a difference in the lives of residents was published in a research paper based on surveys with patients, caregivers and staff.
"A lot of participants said the program was just as important as their physiotherapy, as their occupational therapy and medication," said Lucy Li, a Queen's university student brought on as a summer research student.
"It was actually interesting that that research happened while people were under visitor restrictions but still people were indicating that their quality of life had improved because of the project," added Wiebe.
Physical distancing markers on the sidewalk outside Bruyère’s Saint-Vincent Hospital by Artist-in-Residence cj fleury (Katie Griffin / CTV News Ottawa)
The success of the project is fueling the complex continuing care hospital's push for it to continue.
"We're having great difficulty getting funding for this whether it's from healthcare or whether it's from the arts sector so that's where donor dollars are truly important," said Wiebe, adding she hopes the project will continue to grow.
"We'd like to get more projects going and specifically, after doing more research and reading about what's happening around the world, we'd like to get rehab and palliative care art projects going."
Correction
A previous photo caption mistakenly misidentified the subject as artist cj fleury. It is, in fact, a Bruyere resident.
We regret the error.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
Houston braces for flooding to worsen in wake of storms
High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that have already resulted in crews rescuing hundreds of people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
What a U.S. farmworker’s case of bird flu tells us about tracking the infection
A U.S. farmworker who caught bird flu after working with dairy cattle in Texas appears to be the first known case of mammal-to-human transmission of the virus, a new study shows.
‘We made them safer and more fun’: Here’s what’s new about e-scooters
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Canadian Auger-Aliassime reaches first Masters final in Madrid with another walkover
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime has advanced to his first ATP Masters final, and he hasn't had to play all that much tennis to do it.