MMA and UMMC receive $250,000 for exhibition, programming, and art therapy partnership related to artist Noah Saterstrom’s “What Became of Dr. Smith?”
Jackson, MS…Today, the Mississippi Museum of Art (MMA) and University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) announced they are the recipients of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The $250,000 grant will support the upcoming exhibition What Became of Dr. Smith?, along with public programming and expanded art therapy partnerships between the two institutions.
The exhibition and public programs will be presented at MMA in the fall of 2023.
This year, IMLS awarded more than $29 million in grants to museums across the nation. A total of 199 projects were selected from 587 applications.
What Became of Dr. Smith? is artist Noah Saterstrom’s personal exploration of his family’s history with mental illness in Mississippi. The exhibition features large-scale paintings which chronicle the disappearance, and subsequent removal from the family records of Saterstrom’s great grandfather, optometrist Dr. David Smith. Through archival and family research, Saterstrom has discovered that his great grandfather’s disappearance was due to his life internment at the former Mississippi State Asylum. In this exhibition, Saterstrom aims to address the all too real blindness of contemporary culture to the prevalence of mental health issues in our country.
“We are honored to be recognized by the Institute of Museum and Library Services for this partnership with UMMC,” said Betsy Bradley, Director of the Mississippi Museum of Art. “This grant will allow us to maximize our resources to present a thoughtful exhibition that allows the Museum to initiate much-needed conversations about the prevalence of mental health issues in our society and ways to help mitigate inaccurate impressions associated with it. Our partnership with UMMC will allow us to better understand and deploy the clinical benefits of art therapy and further meaningful connections with our visitors.”
The AHRC will produce a historical and interactive retrospective about the old asylum which will support its mission of continuing to build a ‘descendant community’ of those whose ancestors lived or worked at the old asylum.
“We are enthusiastic about the collaboration between the MMA and the Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities (CBMH),’ said Dr. Ralph Didlake, Director of UMMC’s CBMH which oversees the Asylum Hill Project. “Art is an excellent instrument with which we can understand the lived experience of the individuals treated at the Mississippi State Asylum. This work allows us to explore the role of art in healing – both for patients and caregivers.”
MMA and UMMC currently partner on two art therapy initiatives: Art in Mind and Creative Healing Studio. Art in Mind is an interactive art therapy program that invites individuals experiencing memory loss or mild cognitive impairment and their care partner to explore the galleries and make their own works of art. By stimulating observation, recall, and response, this program helps participants manage their stress or anxiety, cope with change, and gain personal insight. Creative Healing Studio is an art therapy gathering for adults being treated for cancer or those with a cancer diagnosis in their past led by a licensed art therapist. Using the practices of art therapy in an open studio setting, this program helps participants manage stress, cope with change, and gain personal insight or self-awareness. The two institutions also partner on Art & Medicine, a program for first-year UMMC medical students to practice close observation and empathic listening through guided exercises examining works of art and engaging in dialogue with one another.
About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. We advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. IMLS envisions a nation where individuals and communities have access to museums and libraries to learn from and be inspired by the trusted information, ideas, and stories they contain about our diverse natural and cultural heritage. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow us on Facebookand Twitter.
About the Mississippi Museum of Art
Established in 1911, the Mississippi Museum of Art (MMA) is dedicated to connecting Mississippi to the world and the power of art to the power of community. The Museum’s permanent collection includes paintings, photography, multimedia works, and sculpture by Mississippi, American, and international artists. The largest art museum in the state, the Mississippi Museum of Art offers a vibrant roster of exhibitions, public programs, artistic and community partnerships, educational initiatives, and opportunities for exchange year-round. Programming is developed inclusively with community involvement to ensure that a diversity of voices and perspectives are represented. Located at 380 South Lamar Street in downtown Jackson, the Museum is committed to honesty, equity, and inclusion. The Mississippi Museum of Art and its programs are sponsored in part by the City of Jackson and Visit Jackson. Support is also provided in part by funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. For more information, visit msmuseumart.org.
About the University of Mississippi Medical Center
UMMC is the state’s only academic medical center. Its education, research and health care missions share the objectives of improving the health of the state’s population and eliminating health disparities.
Located in Jackson, UMMC encompasses seven health science schools, including medicine, nursing, health related professions, dentistry, pharmacy, graduate studies and population health. The Medical Center’s health care enterprise includes the state’s only Level I trauma center, only children’s hospital, and only organ and bone marrow transplant program. The Medical Center also is home to a Telehealth Center of Excellence, one of two in the nation.
###
Media contacts:
Jana Brady, Mississippi Museum of Art
jbrady@msmuseumart.org, 601-651-3822
Patrice Guilfoyle, APR, University of Mississippi Medical Center
pguilfoyle@umc.edu, (601) 984-2841
