By Michele Coffill
Grand Valley State University
Nationally recognized artist Ted Meyer believes in the power of art to heal both physical and emotional scars.
Through a collaboration between The Bonnie Wesorick Center for Health Care Transformation at Grand Valley State University and Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University (KCAD), Meyer will visit West Michigan to discuss his journey and share stories of the patients he has chronicled on canvas.
He will present a lecture at Grand Valley in conjunction with an exhibit of his artwork at KCAD. Details of these events, which are free and open to the public, are below.
• “Art and Healing,” a collaborative exhibition between KCAD students and Meyer will run March 21 – April 8 at KCAD’s Helen Miller Kendall Gallery, 17 Fountain St. NW. More information at www.kcad.edu/events/healing-through-art/.
• “Scarred for Life: Healing Through Art,” the Distinguished Wesorick Lectureship, sponsored by the Wesorick Center, is Tuesday, March 28, from 1-2 p.m. at the DeVos Center, Loosemore Auditorium, on the GVSU Pew Grand Rapids Campus. RSVP online at www.gvsu.edu/wesorick/.
• Meyer will give an informal presentation on March 28 from 5-6 p.m. at the Mary Idema Pew Library on GVSU’s Allendale Campus. This event is sponsored by several Grand Valley departments and colleges.
Meyer will discuss his project, “Scarred for Life: Monoprints of Human Scars,” which highlights the courage of people who have been in medical crises or accidents through artwork. Evelyn Clingerman, executive director of the Wesorick Center, said research shows that engaging with art has positive health and spiritual benefits.
“In the Wesorick Center we role-model and teach others how to create places where people can thrive, not simply survive, and how to apply a health care paradigm that is more than fixing a scar or a body part,” Clingerman said. The Wesorick Center is an endowed center promoting interprofessional collaboration through the Kirkhof College of Nursing.
Sarah Joseph, KCAD director of exhibitions, said she is proud to collaborate with the Wesorick Center and Grand Valley for Meyer’s exhibition.
“Ted’s work is a powerful reminder of how integral art is to the human experience,” Joseph said. “We look forward to seeing the community enlivened and inspired by Ted’s work and mission.”
Meyer is the current artist-in-residence at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. His artwork has been displayed internationally at museums, hospitals and galleries. Learn more about Meyer at www.tedmeyer.com.
