Radical Connections - How did it all start?
How many of you know someone who started baking sourdough when the pandemic started? Imagine Radical Connections as a beautiful loaf of sourdough bread. We are bringing a healthy culture into healthcare while expanding on the idea of what an artist can be.
We needed these ingredients:
Flour (two types): cj – Social activist / community artist; and Carol - Collaborative pianist / physician executive
Starter (the active culture that makes sourdough rise): Bruyère – the instigator and incubator
Liquid: GEMBA-HLS - Carol’s Global Executive MBA in Healthcare and the Life Sciences at the Rotman School of Management
Salt: Wise Women - regular brainstorming meetings with brilliant strategic women
Mix and bake in the oven of the Covid pandemic, just the right environment for reflection and growth.
The starter for Radical Connections goes back to 2018, when Bruyère, a healthcare and research institute in Ottawa, wished to improve the experience of both giving and receiving care on their three campuses. Dr. Heidi Sveistrup and Peggy Taillon, the presidents of the Bruyère Research Institute and Foundation, proposed an Artist in Residence program to Carol Wiebe, then VP of Medical Affairs at Bruyère. As a musician and a doctor, Carol was primed to lead this initiative, and sought the advice of cj fleury, a well-respected community artist who then took on the role of the first Artist in Residence at Bruyère.
St Vincent Hospital, Bruyère’s Complex Continuing Care facility, was the site for many of the projects cj facilitated with patients. The wall murals, photography galleries, large atrium flowers, and colourful distancing markers continue to bring joy there. Qualitative research completed by summer student Lucy Li and the Research Institute demonstrated that both the art produced and the interactions with the artist had positive impacts on quality of life for both patients and staff. The newly named Dr. Carol Wiebe Artist in Residence program continues at Bruyère, engaging a variety of artists for smaller projects. Both cj and Carol realized the importance of what had been started.
Add in a GEMBA-HLS, Carol’s studies at University of Toronto from 2019-2021, and the dough that became RC started to form. Carol tagged three “Wise Women” to meet with her, every other week, to advise on the creation of an entity dedicated to increasing the presence of the arts in healthcare. Dr. Liz Loewen (background in fine arts, nursing, and digital solutions), Dr. Heidi Sveistrup (BRI president), and cj fleury, who advised Carol on her MBA assignments. These sessions with the Wise Women crystallized the name, the logo, the mission, and the vision of RC.
Given cj’s role in the development of Bruyère’s AiR program and her passion for arts in healthcare, Radical Connections was created as a partnership, and registered as a non-profit federal corporation in August 2021, with Carol as Medical Director, and cj as Artistic Director. Jenny McMaster, a recent MFA graduate with a background in community arts and museum education, was hired as RC’s Program Coordinator. Jenny significantly increased RC’s visibility, and allowed us to connect with a community of artists excited to work in healthcare.
With a vision to expand and foster a global community of people working in this cross-sectoral field, we plan to actively multiply that Bruyère starter, humanizing healthcare and improving wellbeing both for people in care and caregivers.