As the state of Maryland and many other states nationwide hunker down to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, we at Artists Circle have been thinking about how art can play a roll in times of crisis. While practicing social distancing and self-isolating is good for the public’s physical health, we know that many people are feeling the weight of this pandemic mentally and emotionally, whether in the form of worry for loved ones, worry about one’s own health, or just plain loneliness. Over the next few days, we’re going to be posting about different ways to use art and creativity to healthily cope with these feelings.
Shanthi Chandrasekar, Time-Information, located outside the new Prayer and Meditation Room at Suburban Hospital
At Artists Circle, we believe in the healing power of art—both creating it and consuming it. Many psychologists and mental health professionals agree; in fact, art therapy is growing increasingly popular. According to a post by Resources to Recover, an organization geared toward providing families with issues of mental illness with different ways to care for themselves and their loved ones, art therapy is “an application of the visual arts in a therapeutic context,” and can include “art journaling, sketching, making collages, [and] sculpting with clay,” to name just a few therapeutic creative practices. Resources to Recover states that art “stimulates the release of dopamine … [which] basically makes us happier.” Harvard Health Publishing would echo that opinion; in their article “The healing power of art,” they state, “Studies have shown that expressing themselves through art can help people with depression, anxiety, or cancer, too.”
In our recent installation at Suburban Hospital, we tried to draw on artists whose work would bring a sense of calm and ease to the space. Take, for example, the work of Shanthi Chandrasekar.
Shanthi Chandrasekar, Spacetime-Fields
Shanthi Chandrasekar, Space-Energy
These pieces, located outside the hospital’s new Prayer and Meditation Room, imbue the hallways with a pensive tranquility. In her artist’s statement, Shanthi says that her art is based on “scientific and philosophical [inquiry]”—the perfect balance to strike as this art ushers people into a room where they are invited to be introspective and serene, in spite of any stress they might be feeling about what is happening in their lives outside of that space.
Linn Meyers is another artist we have worked with in the past whose art attends and attests to the healing qualities of the art-making process. Dr. Jordan Amirkhani, Professional Lecturer at American University, describes Linn’s work as “a record of the constellations of decisions, mistakes, tensions, and interventions that adhere to each mark [on her paintings].” Composed of hundreds of individual curving lines, her paintings often resemble wood grain, or skin, or wind currents—images that are in and of themselves grounded, and were crafted out of groundedness.
Linn Meyers, Ink on Paper
Linn Meyers, Ink on Paper, installed at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter, and Hampton
We hope that looking at these works of art will help bring you a sense of calm or joy in these stressful times. We will be posting more about ways to use art to help ease your way through the coming weeks.
Artists Circle is proud to employ people who are expressive in a multitude of ways: working at Artists Circle are visual artists, musicians, poets, gardeners, even jewelry makers. Head over to our Instagram @artistscircle to see posts on how members of our staff engage in creative pursuits, and how and why these pursuits are fulfilling for them.