As part of its rotating exhibition program, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center introduced a host of new works by regional artists this January, including paintings, photographs and woodblock prints.
The program, launched 15 years ago, was reinvigorated in 2008 after the New England Foundation for the Arts awarded a $10,000 public arts grant to DHMC and its co-applicant, AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon, to develop a comprehensive art plan for DHMC’s Lebanon campus.
Organizer Marianne Barthel said exhibitions at DHMC enhance the hospital’s community environment and boost patient and staff morale.
“Whether it puts a patient on their way to a test at ease, soothes a caregiver visiting a patient or brings a smile to an employee’s face, the arts and music are here to uplift,” she said.
DHMC partners with local artists, art galleries and associations to promote art at the hospital and in the region. The rotating exhibits last three months and are installed by Barthel and the artists. Artists are selected for shows on a rolling basis, and past pieces have included visual and performance works, Barthel said.
Three visual artists displaying work said that they became involved with the program after participating in other Upper Valley arts projects. Painter Amy Fortier, whose work is displayed in the show, has previously had her art exhibited at the Converse Free Library in Lyme, Howe Library in Hanover and the New London Hospital.
Inspired by mosaics, mandalas and mehndi, a form of henna tattoo art, Fortier designed a process she calls “fauxzaics,” where she creates mosaic-like pieces from paint instead of tile, since she said making mosaics can be messy and time-consuming. She also used colored pencils on paper for some of her DHMC pieces.
Fortier said she is impressed by the distinct styles of the DHMC exhibition’s artists.
“I have really enjoyed the other artists and the fact that there is a mix of media on display,” Fortier said. “No two artists are alike.”
Matt Brown designs and sells original woodblock prints in galleries throughout northern New England. He makes prints in the traditional Japanese hanga method, using multiple hand-carved blocks, one for each color, and printing with a hand-held baren. He uses the baren to firmly press the paper against the inked woodblock so that it absorbs the ink’s pigment.
Brown has previously submitted prints to DHMC’s permanent collection and said he was excited to work on a “self-chosen” display for the hospital.
“The hospital makes for a great place to exhibit artwork, as it is a well-lit, spacious venue used by a variety of people, especially those who are often there experiencing particularly challenging or meaningful moments in their lives,” Brown said.
Photographer Donna Allen, a member of The Lone Mountain Artists coalition based in New Hampshire, composed her pieces from several mediums, such as photography mixed with watercolors, pen, ink and pastels.
Her work is inspired by her independent photography of animals, flowers and landscapes, she said. She used digital art to create two of her four pieces in the show and watercolors for the others.
Art at DHMC serves the interests of artists and the larger community, she said.
“I believe that the arts are what make us civilized and bring us together as a community by allowing us to be aware of how others see the world,” Allen said.
While Fortier set up her exhibit, she said she spoke with patients, friends of patients and some DHMC staff members. They told her that the art was a positive change from the stark white walls usually associated with hospitals.
“It was a nice reminder that art isn’t just pretty things on a wall, but that it can also really help people in other ways,” she said.
The art, on display through March, is for sale, with 25 percent of proceeds benefiting the hospital and 75 percent going to the artists, Barthel said.
