In hospital halls, all over the world, men, women, and children wait, fears mixed with hope. Strangers move between them, listening to breaths and cries of pain.
Medicine is science and art. It asks that we both know the body, how the pieces fit together, and appreciate the preciousness of what they gather. It is there that we touch what it is to be truly human, and the experience becomes a window into what unites us all.
Art is medicine. It unites and transcends. Art is Medicine (AIM) is a cross-cultural, international collaboration that makes emergency rooms (ERs) more human, for both patients and workers, through public displays of art. Its hope is to better reflect the beautiful work done within their walls, enliven both patient and professional to the deeper why of it, and through this, a potential to transform lives.
AIM emerged from the recognition in two centres, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Toronto, Canada, of shared challenges and opportunities. Their cities grow each day, and with them, their ERs become busier. They are turned to by people injured and sick, ones in need of respite, those who are dying, and those with no other place to go. For some it will be the last place they see. By making these spaces softer for those who suffer, we provide them greater relief. As we do it for those dedicated to help them, we allow them to know their job better, and recover from it. This can encourage retention and growth in this difficult environment, more prone to burnout than any other.
In 2019, Addis Ababa University will have completed construction of the country’s first dedicated emergency centre in its largest public hospital. It is AIM’s intention to help them complete a large, public art project at its threshold, designed and constructed by Ethiopian artists, capturing the spirit it holds of being open for all humanity. It will require support from Canadians and Ethiopians who believe in this idea, of the rare and shared nature of what is at stake, and what it takes to soothe those who hurt. It will include a fundraiser in Canada in Autumn 2019, bringing Ethiopian artists to Toronto to display their art in hospital halls here. This visiting art will provide the similar benefit of humanizing Toronto ERs, in addition to serving as an emblem of the deepening partnership between our two countries.
It is our hope that this endeavour will move medicine, in Ethiopia and Canada, towards deeper levels of healing, and as it does, draw into view more clearly what has been the unit of work this whole time. Not the human body, but the human soul.
Confirmed Collaborators:
Nathaniel (Nati) Johannes
Curator
Makush Gallery – Addis Ababa
Nati is the Art Director at Makush Gallery, the largest contemporary art gallery in Ethiopia, with more than 70 artists represented. He has a knack for identifying and promoting emerging artists, as well as supporting the growth of established ones. He has conducted international shows in markets as far as Dublin, and is passionate about spreading the dynamic nature of Ethiopian art.
Aida Mulaneh
Artist
As one of the leading experts on photography from Africa, she has been a jury member on several photography competitions most notably the Sony World Photography Awards 2017 and the World Press Photo Contest 2017. She has also been on various panel discussions on photography in events such as African Union cultural summit, Art Basel and Tedx/Johannesburg. Aida is the founder and director of the Addis Foto Fest (AFF), the first international photography festival in East Africa hosted since 2010 in the city of Addis Ababa. She continues to educate, curate and develop cultural projects with local and international institutions through her company DESTA (Developing and Educating Society Through Art) For Africa Creative Consulting PLC (DFA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Abiy Eshete
Artist
Abiy Eshete was born in 1981 and has won numerous awards, including 2006 Excellence Award from the United States of America Embassy and the 2015 Dashen Art Award. He is fascinated by the city’s unity in diversity and draws inspiration from the surrounding and daily lives of ordinary people.
Art is Medicine 