 The Arts Work...How Can We Show It Introduction and Visual Arts Collaborative Presented by Lorraine Perry, BFA, BS, Director, Healing Arts Network, New Hanover Regional Medical Center  Three banners displayed in the foyer represent the recipients of care, the administrators who provide facilities and funding, and the caregivers. Throughout the day, participants created visual symbols to the banners. The banners were used as part of the Training Institute finale. Why did we choose to provide a research topic for this year’s Training Institute? At the 2002 NCAH Training Institute it was requested that there be more education about how to begin to do research and how to articulate what it is we do. There is a need to be precise in our language, to explain the results of what we do as artists and therapists in our own clinical fields and the community work that we do. As artists, we have been taught to incorporate music, movement, drawing, and sculpture in many venues to help people articulate their experiences. Now, it’s our job as professionals to have the integrity to use words in the most simple and elegant way to communicate what it is we do and what are the benefits. Verbal language is an integral part of the practice of the arts for health. The way we articulate what we have done and how it was perceived will have an impact on both reflecting and shaping interventions as we know it. The Training Institute has been designed to provide arts for health professionals with practical evaluation and research skills to effectively apply to their work and use to build collaborations and partnerships. |