COLUMBUS, Ohio — Dr. Maryanna Klatt remembers hopping a bus as a 10-year-old to ride to the Dayton Arts Institute to take classes. She fell in love with sculpting and still practices the art to this day.
“To have an outlet that enlarges your experience of humanity is so important,” said Klatt, director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at The Ohio State University.
Some of her most recent work includes sculptures of her grandchildren, and they’re included in the Medicine & the Arts: Art Show 2022, which is virtual once again this year because of the pandemic.
“Everybody can be healthy, even if they have a disease, and I think that’s a concept that art helps you see, that health is about well-being, not about the absence of disease,” she said. “It helps a person feel rejuvenated. It helps them connect with who they are as a human being. And so, then I think that helps the provider connect better with the patient.”
That’s the idea behind the art show, which is a project of the Program for Humanism & the Arts in Medicine. Students, faculty and staff from any of Ohio State’s medical colleges are invited to participate. More than 80 are showing off their talents this year.
“We talk a lot about burnout and caring for the caregivers, and in many ways, this opportunity, this creative expression really facilitates resilience and renewal of our providers,” said Dr. Sheryl Pfeil, director of Humanism in Medicine.
While she says she doesn’t have the talent to enter the art show, she enjoys viewing the work of others. And that work includes photography, paintings, sculpture, animation, spoken word, poetry and music.
“I am literally repeatedly blown away by the talent, and I have to remind myself that these are not only incredibly talented artists, in many forms but also incredibly brilliant healthcare providers who exercise their other talents daily for the benefit of many patients,” she said.
Since the virtual art show launched, more than 3,500 people have visited the site to see the work. And they’ve come from 40 states and 21 countries on five continents.
“All of those who were able to experience and participate, even if they’re not the ones who are creating, that is also rejuvenating,” Dr. Pfeil said.
To visit the virtual art show, click here.