Breakout Session:
When Art is Medicine: An Exploration of Personhood, Autonomy and Dignity through Creative Expression
St.Amant Art-Based Spiritual Care Group – The Capital ‘C’ Circle
We are a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people with diverse abilities. Some of us come to Circle to hold the tools for artistic expression in our hands for the very first time. Some of us explore and express ourselves through presence, attuned with the hands and heart of a co-creator alongside us. In our Circle, we can all find, feel, and if we choose, share the Medicine in the stories we carry. Circle sees us. Circle hears us. We become known for who we are in Circle. And we come to know that when we touch into our life’s story through art, there is a healing that happens; healing for the artist, and if the artists choose to share, healing for the viewer and listener too. The Circle and everyone close to it is guided by relationship, and by the Truth that Art is Medicine.
The shared image is a communal creation by the five artists in the Winter 2025 Art-Based Spiritual Care Circle at St.Amant. It is titled “in Circle in Circle in Circle in Circle” representing the Medicine found within and around us.
A story of our group’s beginning can be found here:
Two stories of the group’s first Public Gallery in St.Boniface can be found:
- https://www.la-liberte.ca/2025/12/04/les-artistes-de-st-amant-au-centre-dune-exposition-collaborative/
- https://ici.radio-canada.ca/tele/le-telejournal-manitoba/site/segments/reportage/2242667/une-exposition-des-patients-du-centre-st-amant-a
Bio:
Lindsay McCombe is the Manager of the St.Amant Research Centre and Evaluation Office. She received her Master of Arts from the University of Manitoba specializing in Applied Behaviour Analysis, where her love of data was established. Lindsay’s passion for accessibility extends across many mediums from art to research findings and visualizations of data. She is an advocate for accessible art practices and is helping to facilitate innovative arts-based spiritual exploration within the St.Amant community alongside local artists as part of the national Arts for Equity research network, led by Drs. Kendra Rieger and Sheryl Reimer-Kirkham (Trinity Western University, BC, Nursing), and Anne Tuppurainen (Providence Health Care, BC).
Andrew Terhoch is part of the Réseau Compassion Network as the Spiritual Health Practitioner for the St.Amant community. In his daily work, Andrew supports people of all ages and abilities to explore and strengthen spiritual health in all areas of life and their healthcare experiences. He is a Ceremony helper to Knowledge Carriers and Elders in his work community. And he facilitates compassion-based education and spiritual practice Circles for staff and volunteers around the region, sharing contemplative practices of presence, mindfulness and compassion.
