Begun last summer, North Adams Regional Hospital’s Community Art Project proved to be a great success, so in its second phase more works by more artists hang in various places around the hospital.
The program has been expanded from 46 works loaned to the hospital from 13 local artists, to more than 80 works by 30 artists.
The works range from oils to watercolors to photographs and mixed media to prints and quilts. They were introduced at a reception at the hospital March 15.
Sally Sussman, an artist who lives in Williamstown and serves as curator of the project, said “There is artwork all over this building.
“This is a large, large building, and hanging artwork here has been a challenge and a real joy,†she said. “Somehow the pieces have just found their right place.â€
People who work in the hospital have favorite pieces: “Now, we’ve gotten to the point, dear artists, that people are requesting pieces ... they would like a piece of artwork to come to a certain area,†Sussman said.
“Every artist in the original hanging extended their loan to NARH, which is a tribute to them and fortunate to visitors to the hospital,†she said. “This project met a need for local artisans to display their work in public, and the hospital’s desire to complement the healing process with artwork.â€
NARH President John C.J. Cronin thanked the artists who had come to the reception for brightening the hospital environment.
“It can use that, and it does make a difference. We get a lot of comments about the work hanging throughout the hospital,†he said. “At least, I don’t get any that aren’t positive, so I think it’s very much appreciated by visitors, patients, families.
“And I think [it] has impacts that go beyond what maybe we all anticipated when we first started this project,†he added.
“The view has evolved from one that is focused entirely on ‘our mission is to take care of those who are sick’ to where today we talk about our mission to be one of improving the health of the people in the community,†Cronin said. “If we act on that, we engage in projects such as this one.â€
Improving health has far more to do with things we engage in than just the best physicians, technology, medication, and staff, he said.
“It also means that we have to address the elements in the environment around us that begin to contribute over time to the reason we need these facilities,†Cronin said. “So part of what we’re doing with this effort is to begin to affect our environment.â€
The Artist Resource Trust (A.R.T.) fund of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation has helped cover some of the costs of the project, said Virgil Stucker, Northern Berkshire Health Systems’ vice-president for external relations.
The A.R.T. fund has announced a grant to purchase three works of art for Northern Berkshire Health Systems, the parent corporation of NARH. The works, all by artist Mary Natalizia of Williamstown, include Poppy, Morning Glory, and Multiples, all in mixed media. The pieces hang in NARH’s main lobby and near the emergency department.
Natalizia is a local visual artist who holds a master’s of art from the Rhode Island School of Design and a bachelor’s in fine arts from the University of Massachusetts. She also teaches art to students in the Pownal Elementary School.
Other local artists who may be interested in showing their work may contact Sussman at 458-4670. Works are rotated approximately twice a year.
The reception ended with several tours through the hospital to see the artwork.
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Berkshire Food Project Closed for Power Issues
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