RxArt — New Intern Fresh from NC

My name is Molly Brewer, and today I’m joining the intelligent and talented team at RxArt as their newest intern. I moved to New York from North Carolina just in time for the dog days of summer, but fortunately, art museums are well air-conditioned, providing a delightful refuge from the heat. I loved taking in the sights, sounds, and often peculiar smells of the city this week, but I’m excited to get down to business at RxArt!

My first experience with arts and healthcare was while I was an art student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I began volunteering with a therapeutic arts non-profit organization down the road at Duke Hospital where I facilitated an art group with pregnant women on bed rest. After sitting around the table with these women for just a couple of hours a week while they painted picture frames or made collages and connected with one another on topics like what to name the new baby and sometimes more complicated issues like gestational diabetes or post partum depression, I was hooked.

I began working for that organization after graduation, but I’m thrilled to diversify my experience in arts and health by learning the ins and outs of getting contemporary visual art in to medical spaces on a larger scale. I have witnessed visual art act as a healing vehicle for patients, staff, visitors and the entire healthcare facility’s community, and I’m happy to learn about and contribute to that process in any way I can.