Posted by Community Programs Coordinator Nora Grant

What was it about?

How do you heal? What heals you? This Pop Up Museum explored the different ways we heal- from laughter to art, people to pills.

How did it go?

The word medicine can mean different things to different people. For some, it’s friends, or a solitary walk in the woods. For others, it’s a purring cat, sunshine, or surgery.

Held in collaboration with WomenCARE, a place where women with any type of cancer find mutual support and shared experience, the Central Coast Center for Independent Living (CCCIL),  and Santa Barbara based artist Dr. Timothy Wolfe, this Pop Up Museum invited people to bring in someone or something that helps them heal, and share their recovery stories.

Artist Dr. Timothy Wolfe, BGLU, exhibited  works from his traveling Pill Project, ARTx. ARTx explores the concept of “Artist as Doctor,” and creative expression as a principle means of healing. Large, hollow ceramic pills are filled with symbols and remedies, offering personalized, creative community medicine. Wolfe was also on hand writing personalized pop up prescriptions for willing participants.

In addition to the pop up exhibit, the pop up also screened the CCCIL’s traumatic brain injury photo voice project, sharing the powerful stories of individuals who experienced brain trauma.

The Pop Up Museum was not only well attended, but poignant and diverse. Rather than working with one collaborator, we worked with three, providing more opportunity for social bridging within the context of healing and medicine. We printed nametags which prompted "My Medicine Is..." and it was fascinating to see how different people filled these out. Some of the nametags read, "being here," "Virginia Wolfe," "moonlight," and "running running running."  It is understandable that we all have different ways of healing, as we all have different ways of feeling, loving, and understanding the complexities of human experience.

Links

Check out a digital exhibit here on our Pinterest Board