Collaboration between The Royal and the Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG) is providing a safe space to explore and make art for outpatients from The Royal in various stages of recovery, and has grown to include participants from neighboring service organizations.
Creative Space, a studio program for youth and adults living with mental illness, runs weekly at the OAG Studio in the heart of downtown Ottawa. OAG’s community access team leads creative activities, and workshops are facilitated by recreation therapists from The Royal.
Each Monday afternoon, Alexis Boyle, curator of community access at OAG, lays out the supplies for the workshop. People trickle in, some up to an hour early, grab a snack and settle in to chat with the other artists. There are usually 15-25 artists each week.
The core group is still the original attendees, outpatients of The Royal, but the program has grown through invitations and word of mouth. Boyle has personally invited people from local service organizations including the Ottawa Mission, St. Joe’s Women’s Centre, Youth Now: Talitha House, Options Bytown, and OASIS harm reduction program at Sandy Hill Community Centre.
“We’ve created something very special in the Studio on Monday afternoons, and I have to say it is one of my highlights each week,” says Boyle. She begins each workshop by showing examples of other artists whose work is related to the day’s subject matter, then does a couple of demonstrations, and then people get to work. “There is structure for those who want it, and the freedom to explore personal projects if artists prefer,” says Boyle.
At the end, the artists gather their work together and talk about what each person has made. They can talk about what they’ve learned and the process, and it provides an opportunity to open up about personal experiences that people are bringing to their artwork, and for feedback from the group whether it be technical or emotional support.
"We’ve created something very special in the Studio on Monday afternoons, and I have to say it is one of my highlights each week."
Creative Space started with an idea. James MacRae’s company, verTerra Corp., managed the OAG expansion and redevelopment project for the City of Ottawa. He’s also a trustee on The Royal’s Board, and a passionate advocate for and supporter of mental health in our community. His wife, Anastasiia Smolyaninova-MacRae, is a professional artist, so he also has a deep appreciation for the role art and creativity plays in wellbeing. He suggested to Alex Bazdak, President and CEO of the OAG, to couple with The Royal and develop a program for patients, and that he and his wife would provide a dedicated multi-year donation to support the initiative.
‘’The integration of two public institutions, combining their respective skillsets, to provide community-based mental health care and recovery outlets is totally awesome. Furthermore, OAG’s inclusion of the clients of the Ottawa Mission is testament to the potential of such programs to break barriers and provide truly community driven, integrated and holistic health care offerings,” says MacRae.
It’s a meaningful space for the artists, as well. It’s an elevated space in the heart of the city where they can meet with likeminded people and be creative.
“I’ve always been comfortable using art and its expression as part of my recovery path,” says one Creative Space artist. “The space, the projects and the people, both the facilitators and peers at OAG have provided a safe non-judgemental space for me to explore wherever I may be emotionally.”
Boyle recounts another artist’s experience with Creative Space: “One woman who comes weekly has told me that Creative Space is a reason to leave her home once a week during a particularly grueling winter. She is so grateful for the safe space OAG provides with coffee, snacks and good company. She can forget about her troubles and create in a social environment. This socializing is a particularly important for her, she said. Holding a Bachelors of Fine Art, she could be doing the same creative activities at home, but it doesn’t have the same appeal or reward.”
The ongoing program, officially launched on December 17, 2018 during a vernissage of new works created by participants, receives the generous support of McCrae as well as Debbie and David Weinstein.
“Looking towards the future, The Royal is focused on delivering mental health care that meets people where they are - that means working alongside partners across our community who interface with our clients in different ways to provide care that is integrated with other meaningful elements of their lives, says Joanne Bezzubetz, President and CEO of The Royal.
“Creative Space is a wonderful example of this; it gives clients the opportunity for creative expression and learning while becoming part of a broader community that supports their wellness.”