Art is Medicine
Art is Medicine (AIM) is a cross-cultural, international collaboration that seeks to humanize emergency rooms (ERs) for patients and staff through public displays of art. Our mission is to promote artistic talent while simultaneously enlivening the interior walls of hospitals. Combining creativity and science, AIM will trigger dialogues on the relationship between art and medicine, and contribute to the positive transformation of lives.
In 2019, Addis Ababa University will have completed the construction of Ethiopia’s first dedicated emergency centre in its largest public hospital. AIM intends to assist in the construction of a collaborative art project that will showcase the talents of Ethiopian artists to capture a spirit of openness, inclusion, and equality. It will require the support of Canadians and Ethiopians alike who believe in the healing and equalizing power of art. This collaboration also serves to celebrate the deepening partnership between our two countries.
Studies reveal that creative activities can relieve stress, assist communication and connection, and arrest cognitive decline. Additionally, engaging with art has proven to aid symptoms of depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Considering the evidence, it is our hope that this endeavor will move medical practice, in both Ethiopia and Canada, towards deeper notions of healing. We hope that AIM will emphasize what has been, all along, medicine’s primary concentration - not the human body, but the human soul.
Our core
mission is to embrace and support the work of national and international
contemporary creators working in the field of art + design.