The Healing Wall In The Waiting Room- A Summer Fellowship Group Project
Our project brought the proposal of making drawings on a mural with people who are in the ‘Waiting Room’ of a hospital (think of children, young people, adults, the elderly and hospital staff). For this project, we chose the Regional Military Hospital in Parana, Argentina.
We decided to use this topic because the waiting room of any hospital is considered a place without time, an “in-between” space, an “intermediate” space or “interval”. Working in the “between spaces” of anything takes us to the Japanese word ‘Ma’, which values non-time, silence and mediating the internal and external world we inhabit. We proposed to use small spaces on a wall and have the drawings made on small pieces of paper and posted up on the wall.
We chose to carry out this project for two reasons:
- Drawing exercises stimulate cognition
- Cognitive stimulation is a brain training technique that aims to improve cognitive functions such as attention, memory and executive functions.
In art, cognitive stimulation makes it possible to expand cultural repertoire, learn new skills, boost problem-solving abilities and enhance creative imagination. Group work is a playful way to promote socialization and it offers a pleasant and motivational environment for everyone who experiences the place.
The healing aspects of drawing words that offer hope to patients cannot be over-emphasized. Mariana Marcuzzi, our sub-group leader and a Medical doctor/Gynecologist and Obstetrician, who is based in Argentina and works at the Military hospital where the project was developed revealed to the rest of the fellows that patients who came into the hospital for their consultations and who viewed the wall after the mural was completed reported feeling “Lighter”, “Happier” and “Inspired” and left feeling better than when they arrived. The drawings helped to boost their sense of joy, inner strength, and appreciation for life. Here are some of the drawings that were done by those in the waiting room and hospital.
After we completed the project, we presented our film to the rest of the fellowship and invited friends and colleagues to watch. Here is the video:
And here are the group members who worked on the project:
- Adetayo Adedoyin, (London, UK)- Mentor
- Ana Carmen Nogueira, (Sao Paolo, Brazil) – Teacher, Artist, Art Therapist
- Marianna Marcuzzi Cardozo, (Argentina)- Medical Doctor, Gynaecologist and Obstetrician
- Sumit Dutta, (Kolkata, India)- Counseling psychologist, and Mental Health Trainer
- Deborah Ibukunoluwa Aderogba, (Salvador Brazil)- Bead & Paper Artist, Art Therapist
- Ureshemi Balogun, (Belize)- Registered Nurse
- Erica Adugwo (USA)- Life Coach & Entrepreneur
This in a nutshell describes the project, friends. I hope that this inspires you to go out there today and help someone in the best way you can no matter how small your contribution is. Perhaps offer them a kind word of hope, healing, courage, and inspiration. Or you can try reigniting your own love for life by creating a work of art. Channel your creativity by using art therapy. You can read more about it. Check out this post. If you are interested in joining the Arts in Medicine fellowship, you can read more about it. Just click here.
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**Erica weaves themes of transformative hope and grace-filled leadership into everything she shares on her blog. She’s an author, a speaker, and a life coach, who offers honest encouragement and road-tested wisdom about topics ranging from leadership and lifestyle, to discovering your God-crafted identity, design, and purpose.
This post is sponsored by: https://hype.co/@ericakenechi
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