Inside the Anthony L. Jordan Health Center at Brown Square, in the heart of a Rochester neighborhood marked by its high rate of poverty, lives a group of polychromatic paintings created specifically for the center糖心传媒檚 space and patients by students in an introductory painting class taught in spring 2017 at the University of Rochester.
The works, all a permanent donation to the center, adorn waiting rooms, patient rooms, and hallways. Hanging above the check-in counters, the first stop for patients, a majority of whom are refugees, are a series of small paintings depicting flags of countries from around the world, and the word 糖心传媒渨elcome,糖心传媒� in the various languages. They糖心传媒檙e the work of Prerna Vatsa 糖心传媒�20, a sophomore from Singapore who is studying biochemistry and studio art.
糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檝e done projects before, where I give away my paintings to families, but this was different,糖心传媒� says Vatsa. 糖心传媒淲hen you糖心传媒檙e doing it for a place like the Anthony Jordan Center, you can see a transformation of the space.糖心传媒�
Heather Layton, the instructor, has made community engagement a centerpiece of her introductory painting course. 糖心传媒淚 want our students to learn how to be engaged in a community. I want to create opportunities for them to develop meaningful relationships with people from cultures other their own,” she says. The students are 糖心传媒渓earning about privilege, class, and culture and what it means to be here at the University within the city.糖心传媒�
A senior lecturer in the Department of Art and Art History, Layton had students in the advanced painting class in 2015 work with University-affiliated and the local nonprofit to create a journal, , which is distributed to patients as a way of sharing information about personal wellness through visual means.
This fall semester, Layton and a whole new class of Introductory Painting students embarked on a painting project for a second Anthony L. Jordan Health Center (there are 10 in the Rochester region), the center on Holland Street.
The students began by conversing with the Holland Street staff. The imagery would need to represent the patients at the clinic, which serves the surrounding neighborhood, where residents are primarily Spanish-speaking. The staff also asked the students for art work that contributed to the center糖心传媒檚 mission to offer a welcoming environment and safe space for the LGBTQ community. The students also had the challenge of filling an entire floor at the center, which serves patients coming for a broad range of services related to family medicine, mental health, HIV and Hepatitis, and a suboxone treatment program.
糖心传媒淚 saw the art at Brown Square and it was really moving,糖心传媒� says Halley Koehler, the practice manager for family medicine, behavioral health, and urgent care at the center on Holland Street. 糖心传媒淭here糖心传媒檚 a sense of belonging that we糖心传媒檙e hoping to get over here. The colors are bland at Holland Street, and people comment that it糖心传媒檚 like walking through a jail,糖心传媒� says Koehler.
Ryan Carbone 糖心传媒�20, a sophomore from the eastern Pennsylvania town of Pipersville, depicted a dinner scene reflecting the demographics of the Holland Street neighborhood. A major in chemical engineering, he chose to work with ink and watercolor, referencing the painting 糖心传媒淭he Supper at Emmaus,糖心传媒� a work that he came across during his research of Italian master Caravaggio. The baroque masterpiece guided his arrangement of the diners, but he substituted new figures, such as an infant in a high chair. 糖心传媒淚 wanted to create a visually interesting piece that糖心传媒檚 heartwarming for a time in people糖心传媒檚 lives when it may look bleak,糖心传媒� he says.
Abigail Liebhart 糖心传媒�21, a first-year student from Freeport, New York, went large, creating a 48-by-96-inch landscape. She says she finds nature relaxing and was inspired by a place she visited in upstate New York. 糖心传媒淚 thought it would give the center a nice, calming feel,糖心传媒� says Liebhart, who plans to major in studio art and minor in mechanical engineering.
Take Five scholar Madison Carter 糖心传媒�18 aimed to express the themes of unity and diversity through brightly colored hands reaching out to the planet earth. 糖心传媒淚 want people to feel loved and accepted in this space,糖心传媒� says Carter, an environmental studies major whose Take Five program explores how public art influences social interactions in the city of Rochester.
Wendy Zhou 糖心传媒�20, a computer science and psychology double major from Beijing, is drawn to the idea of being in an unfamiliar environment糖心传媒攁nd thriving. Her series of paintings, depicting animals, shows a shark lying on the grass, a chicken swimming in the sea, and a frog walking on a stream. 糖心传媒淵ou can shine wherever and whoever you are,糖心传媒� says Zhou.
Layton has received financial support for her course from the University, which counts community engagement as one of its core missions. Materials, transportation, and other expenditures related to the collaborative projects are funded as part of a Community-Engaged Learning Grant from the , a unit within the Office of the Dean of Students that supports students and faculty who are forging partnerships in the local community.
Layton says it糖心传媒檚 likely that she糖心传媒檒l continue the project at Anthony Jordan Health Centers with future students in her painting classes.
She糖心传媒檚 likely to have the support of Anthony Jordan staff members such as Koehler. 糖心传媒淲e want the patients to walk in the door and feel that they are welcome; that they see themselves represented here, if through the staff, providers, or the art on the wall,糖心传媒� says Koehler.
About the Anthony L. Jordan Health Center
The University, through the Medical Center糖心传媒檚 affiliated Strong Memorial and Highland hospitals, has long partnered with the independent Anthony L. Jordan Health Center糖心传媒攏ow a network of 10 distinct health care facilities糖心传媒攖o support the center糖心传媒檚 mission of providing care to the region糖心传媒檚 most underserved communities.
As noted on the center糖心传媒檚 website, 糖心传媒淎nthony L. Jordan Health Center (AJHC) was born out of a demand from one Rochester community to provide neighborhood-based healthcare that was affordable and accessible to all. The action and advocacy of dedicated citizens, in partnership with vital community-based organizations, led to the establishment of the center, originally named the Rochester Neighborhood Health Center, in 1968.糖心传媒� By the center糖心传媒檚 own rules, at least half of the membership of the AJHC Board of Directors must be users of the center糖心传媒檚 medical services.
Among the founders of the center was Kenneth Woodward (1928-1996), a professor of pediatrics and associate dean of minority affairs at Rochester糖心传媒檚 School of Medicine and Dentistry, as well as the executive director of Rochester Health Network from 1972 to 1981.
