Isabelle Wachsmuth is a project manager at the World Health Organization, in charge of the Art Impact For Health movement that organizes events around the world around art and health. She will be present during the major event we are co-organizing with the Art For Science non-profit organization on April 15th and she has accepted to answer our questions.
Who are you in a few words?
Isabelle Wachsmuth: I have got a somewhat atypical background, I am a biologist with a specialization in homeostasis, physiology and neuroscience. I am fortunate to have a holistic (who is interested in his object as a whole, editor's note) view of life and health thanks to all these disciplines. I am also an artist, a painter. This path allows me to bridge the gap between science and art.
Can you tell us a little more about your work as an artist?
My painting is very abstract and very colorful. I work a lot with music, around high frequencies and their influence on our creativity and our ability to let go. It is a very intuitive painting, not at all directed nor academic.
How did you come to launch the Art Impact For Health and SDGs at the WHO?
I first started outside of the WHO, with partners, thinking about how art could be a way to engage with the population by offering a more human approach. First, I organized an exhibition on violences against women, tested locally in France and then at the United Nations Palace. I have combined the scientific process of resiliency – the psychological states women go through to get out of this violence – with artistic expression. Then I presented each year a new exhibition with the idea of mobilizing the public and institutions on these subjects. I found out that art was really a universal way to communicate, but also to make links between disciplines. Then, at one point, I had the opportunity to introduce art into my work at WHO.
What were some of your main projects?
We have worked with children affected by cleft lips in several countries around the world, including Africa. The idea was to work with these children on the theme of masks by involving local artists. I have also worked with the World Cancer Congress, with the goal of valuing patients, of giving them a voice through art, transcribing what they felt in the form of poems or portraits. We showcase all these field actions in international exhibitions that we carry out each year. Our role is to democratize art, to make it accessible, but also to enrich perception and reflection through artistic expression, and to stimulate dialogue.
Are many scientific studies done on the impact of art on health?
The evidence is already there and it’s huge. The WHO has published a report with a compilation of all this evidence. But this not something that is mainstream, we don’t communicate much to the general public. And this not yet accepted by the diehard medical community. There has always been an opposition between biomedical and holistic thinking in the western world. It’s a lot of background work to get these much broader approaches accepted, which are looking at underlying causes, as opposed to a reductionist approach to medicine. Inevitably the effects of holistic approaches such as art are more difficult to prove.
The Art For Science non-profit organization is a member of your movement. What messages do you want to convey together?
I have already organized several exhibitions in Geneva by inviting several initiatives in favor of the impact of art in health and in this context Art For Science has contributed magnificently, both through its artists and the presentation of the initiative. The idea for me now is to make an immersive visit to St. Martin on April 15th to establish the activities that can then be developed together. Our common goal is to establish this bridge between art and science and stimulate reflection in a multi-disciplinary way.
You will host a conference during the Art For Science event on April 15th. What will be the topics?
I will be present in St. Martin to talk about what has been put in place with Art Impact For Health and what it has brought. My goal will also be to show how this artistic approach can bring extraordinary results in terms of collective intelligence, that is, how partners who did not communicate will be able to work together, understand each other, co-create and initiate a new dynamic of mutual aid and pooling or resources. It goes much further than simply the impact of art, it’s also the impact on organizational structures and the link that we establish between individuals. Finally I hope to be able to offer the creation of a live fresco, so that the public can see how we can create another way to communicate together, to share, to express oneself and to create a space of benevolence and security where everyone has a place.
Instagram: @artforscience.eu
Facebook: @artforscience
LinkedIn: @Association Art For Science
Twitter: _ArtForScience_
Subscriptions for the event of April 15
Comments