Back to Home Page
Artists Community Send us Info
Membership Frequently Asked Questions About Us Search
See other Writings

Interview with the Arts and Healing Network


by greenmuseum.org (2003)

This is an email interview with Marion Weber (founder) and Danny Hobson (director) of the Arts and Healing Network, a website dedicated to the healing potential of art. In April, 2003, they announced the latest recipient of their annual $10,000 prize and gave us a convenient opportunity to ask them about their work.

Q: You've recently announced that artist Patricia Johanson is the 2003 winner of the Arts and Healing Network's annual award. Could you tell us a little about the award and how Patricia was chosen?

AHN: We are so pleased to honor each year a healing artist who is truly making a difference in the world. Patricia Johanson was a natural choice for this year's Arts and Healing Network Award, as she is such a shining example of an artist who stands behind her leadership and her vision. Her work is truly outstanding in that she manages to bring together her innovative creative vision with practical ecological solutions. She really embraces big work such as the 912-acre water park in Seoul, Korea and the Fairparks Lagoon project in Dallas, Texas. She is a testament to the power of the individual artist to make significant and positive change happen. You could read a wonderful interview with her on our web site at www.artheals.org here.

Q: How were the other winners of this prize selected?

AHN: We have been blessed to know so many wonderful leaders in the healing arts field. Our past awardees have included artists like Lily Yeh who founded the Village of Arts and Humanities, which has facilitated major transformations in inner-city Philadelphia. Thanks to the Lily's efforts, today what was once a run-down neighborhood is now a place rich with community spirit and beauty. The 2001 awardee, Bonnie Ora Sherk, has been bringing her talents as an artist to the arena of education - improving learning environments through the creation of projects like the Living Library and Think Park. Like Johanson, the 2000 awardee, Betsey Damon, has pursued large scale international environmental projects such as her Living Water Garden in Chengdu China. Marilyn Wood, the 1999 awardee, has perfected the art of celebration, creating fabulous community celebrations across the globe. The first award recipient, Bill Witherspoon, is a true visionary, connecting people with nature through the understanding that creative acts of reverence and gratitude are effective in increasing earth productivity and decreasing toxicity.

The common threads between the six artists who have received the award are strong leadership, community building, amazing vision, and the ability to truly act as catalysts for positive change in the world.

Q: Beyond the direct financial benefit, what do you hope is the impact of this award?

AHN: One word. INSPIRATION. Each of the AHN Award recipients expanded our notion of what was possible. Our hope is that the award makes these artists more visible, so that others may be deeply inspired by their outstanding work.

We also hope that the award inspires the recipient as well. There is no application for this award. It appears as an unexpected gift, a surprise. We hope that it offers these artists not only funds that support them, but the acknowledgement that they are creating important and meaningful work in the world. We hope the award appears in their life as cheer leader, saying you are wonderful, keep going.

Spinning rose image from the Arts and Healing Network.
Spinning rose image from the Arts and Healing Network.

Q: The Arts and Healing Network is directed to "anyone interested in the healing potential of art, especially environmentalists, social activists, artists, art professionals, health care practitioners, and those challenged by illness." What brought you start this organization?

AHN: We felt it was critical to put a spotlight on this growing movement of art and healing. We saw that creativity was helping people heal - whether it was that the act of painting helped in someone's recovery from cancer or that a whole community could be brought closer by the creation of public gardens and murals. This phenomena was happening and growing, and it warranted greater recognition. So we developed the web site as a channel through which to make the field of art and healing more visible.

We created the web site as a "network" because we really saw the potential of the world wide web for creating connection between people who might reside thousands of miles away from each other. Each of our listings contains contact information, so that a visitor to our site could get in touch with a healing artist and begin a dialogue and get involved. Later we added an interactive bulletin board so that visitors could post questions, news or inspiration and respond to each other's bb postings.

Over the years the site has grown and evolved. It now contains a very rich section on community based projects, a wonderful resource section to support artists, a monthly newsletter, and much more. We are currently working on a plan to redesign the site as it has grown so much that it deserves a new structure. We hope to launch the improved site by the end of 2003.

Q: Do you think healing and environmental art face particular challenges to being accepted more widely in today's world?

AHN: From our perspective, the healing arts have been flourishing and growing more widely accepted all the time. In the seven years we have been on-line we've seen this field become more mainstream and more validated. New organizations have sprung up like Art in the Public Interest, Artist Cares, and so many others. More and more hospitals are bringing creativity into the healing arena, artists are bringing art forms into classrooms as innovative teaching tools, communities are being brought closer together through public gardens and creative projects. It's very exciting to witness.

Q: Aside from online exposure, what do you think is needed to more effectively use art to benefit our communities and ecosystems?

AHN: The future of healing and environmental art is one of leadership. Artists possess the ability to look at the troubles of our time from another perspective and bring deep creativity to problem solving. It is time for more artists to come out of the studio and bring their creativity into the larger world. Where we have the four elements of community, creativity, environment and healing coming together - that is where hope lies.

Q: What should an artist do today if they want to end up with the next Healing Arts Network Award?

AHN We grant this award as a surprise gift. There is no application. We work intuitively. Giving this award is a true joy. We highly recommend that other organizations and individuals consider doing the same.

© 2008 greenmuseum.org