In Conversation

Virtual Event

Presented by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and Rhode Island Department of Health.

Join the dialogue with artists, creatives, health professionals, and other innovators who believe in the power of the arts to engage communities and improve well-being. Each event begins with a presentation, followed by open conversation and networking. In February, March, and April the In Conversation: Arts and Health series will feature members of the RI Arts and Health Network Steering Committee who will share highlights of their current projects.

Presentation #1 - Clinical Arts in the Museum

Alexandra Poterack (Director of Academic Programs, RISD Museum) shares the Museum’s Clinical Arts programs: professional development opportunities for premedical students, medical students, residents, and practicing attending physicians. In workshops and courses held at the museum, current and future physicians build skills in nuanced observation, mindful attention to individual thought patterns, and awareness of personal biases—skills which are directly applicable to clinical practice.

Presentation #2 - Hera Gallery: Creating Community Since 1974

Co-presenter artists Sonja Czekalski, Gallery Director and Wendy Wahl, Board Member will share some of the initiatives of Hera Gallery and Educational Foundation based in rural Wakefield. Hera has expanded its programming to meet the needs of the local community and beyond with exhibitions and services that inspire healthy social change. Hera is one of the earliest feminist art collectives in the United States. As the 50th anniversary approaches, the mission remains resolute: to be a place for intersectional and intergenerational artists of all genders to exhibit their work expressing issues related to the current cultural climate.

Sonja Czekalski is a Rhode Island based interdisciplinary artist and MFA Graduate in Fine Arts from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA. Her current work embeds itself in the fourth wave of American feminism meeting at the intersection of women’s craft, visceral memory, and sustainability. Czekalski is the Gallery Director of the historic Hera Gallery in Wakefield, RI. She teaches an array of studio art courses at various New England universities and museums. Czekalski exhibits both regionally and internationally. Recent exhibitions include the Newport Art Museum in Newport RI, Laconia Gallery in Boston MA, and at RANT Arts in Burnie, Tasmania. She is an artist member at Hera Gallery, a member of the North American Hand Papermakers, and a contributor to Witches Magazine.

Wendy Wahl is a visual artist with a mind, body, spirit practice for over thirty-five years. She exhibits locally, nationally, internationally, and is included in public and private collections. Beyond the studio she devotes time between Eleanor Slater Hospital, AdCare, and Zinnia supporting people in recovery to remember how to breathe and be in their bodies. Wendy is a Board Member of Hera Gallery and Educational Foundation serving in the 1990s and again since 2016. She is here to present some of the initiatives of this non-profit organization.

Arts and Health: Through its grantmaking and partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Health, RISCA supports programs and collaborations that utilize the arts to advance health and well-being for all individuals and communities in Rhode Island. Learn more.