The JSMA receives $350,000 grant from the Tykeson Family Foundation to support Art Heals for 4 years
The JSMA is honored to announce a recent $350,000 grant from the Tykeson Family Foundation to support Art Heals for four years. The grant builds on the success of the program and will support publication of the Art Heals Curriculum Workbook, dissemination of research and curriculum, staffing and graduate student training, and expanding access to rural patients and participants. Thank you to the Tykeson Family Foundation for investing in Art Heals and our region.
About JSMA's Art Heals Program
Art Heals is an innovative and groundbreaking wellness program at the UO’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. Beginning in 2010 by serving 300 participants a year, Art Heals now reaches over 2000 participants annually through in-person and remote classes and workshops.
In partnership with Samaritan Health Services, Oregon Health & Science University, Stahlbush Island Farms, and the Institute for Mind Body Medicine, JSMA museum educators create and lead sessions for a diverse range of populations across the state. We work with oncology patients; physicians and OHSU medical students; medical care providers and healthcare volunteers; UO students, Latina mothers, and more.
As part of the program, we are conducting research on the effectiveness of a museum-based creative art program in reducing stress among participants. Program workshops led by museum educators, bilingual artists, and physicians employ proven stress reduction techniques—including art observation and art production, mindfulness and reflection—to reduce heart rate, promote decompression, and thereby bolster health resilience. The goal is to provide participants with experiences they can implement after they leave the workshop setting.
Together with OHSU and our other health care consultants, the JSMA is also producing a textbook and training manual that documents techniques and research outcomes from our work with OHSU and Samaritan Health to disseminate Art Heals findings nationally.