search

Burlington City Arts

RELATED
About BCA
Education
Volunteer
donate / become a member

Art from the Heart

If you or someone you know is at UVM Medical center, connect with Art from the Heart

  • Request an art kit delivered anywhere on the main hospital campus. Call FAVORS by dialing 1-2-3 from the main campus 9 a.m.- 4 p.m., Monday - Friday. Choose from: Watercolors, Write to Heal, Coloring for Adults, Coloring for Kids, Oil Pastels, Drawing and Mandalas, Pattern Doodling, Card Making, Mini Journals.  
     

  • Request a visit from a volunteer by asking hospital staff if you are in the Children's Specialty Center M-F mornings and Thursday afternoons, Baird 5 every morning, Baird 4, 6, and 7 several afternoons a week: Tu., W., Fri.

Art from the Heart connects volunteers, patients, caregivers and art supplies at the University of Vermont Medical Center. Creativity, imagination and expression open up possibilities in gentle and playful ways, transforming care and helping us all feel better through art. 

Since 1994 Art from the Heart has worked collaboratively with the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital to support patients. Volunteers visit every day of the year bringing art supplies and devoted time to help make the hospital a more creative place. Art kits are available to pediatric patients and caregivers 24 hours a day. Waiting areas, in-patient hospital rooms and chemotherapy infusion bays become temporary art studios for patients and their families, transforming the hospital environment.
 

In 2015 the program expanded through a generous gift to serve adult patients and caregivers in a variety of ways

  • Art Kits with materials and project ideas are available for patients, family members and caregivers at the main hospital campus. Currently available kits include: watercolors, card making, Write To Heal, pattern doodling, oil pastels and drawing + mandalas. Call FAVORS by dialing 1-2-3 from the main campus 9 a.m.- 4 p.m., Monday - Friday and request an art kit to be delivered to you on the main campus.

  • Employee art making drop-ins where hospital employees can earn incentives to participate through the Employee Wellness Program.

  • In late June 2015 Art from the Heart began serving the inpatient floor, Baird 4. Teams of volunteers visit several times each week to work one on one, bedside and in small groups with patients, families and caregivers. Art kits and materials are available to patients and caregivers 24 hours a day. 

  • Women on bed rest receive visits, supplies and project ideas from volunteers to help transform the challenge of mandatory bed rest. Some women must wait weeks or even months before they can safely deliver their babies. Started December 2015. 

Art from the Heart exhibits patient and volunteer artwork in the hospital and in local art venues in the community. Participating artists, children, volunteers, supporters, and staff members from BCA and the University of Vermont Medical Center celebrate the art of healing. 

Art from the Heart is always looking for volunteers who have compassion and creativity. Artistic interest is important, but experience is not necessary. If you'd like to volunteer, please fill out a volunteer application on the University of Vermont Medical Center's website. The hospital's volunteer office will contact you once they receive a completed application to get you started.

Art from the Heart was founded by Abby Rose and was modeled after the Harlem Horizon Art Studio at the Harlem Hospital Center in NY. 

 

More Info

Arts in Health: Research, Practice and Experience a session of The Integrative Community Practitioner Forum Hosted by the University of Vermont College of Nursing & Health Sciences. Here is a PDF of the slides and notes, and a link to a video of the session.

See Highlights from 2016 for a bit of info on the program from UVM Medical Center.

 
Contact

Rebecca Schwarz, Art from the Heart Coordinator  rschwarz@burlingtoncityarts.org  802.865.9163

Photo credit of top photo: Martha Loving Orgain