ART THAT SUPPORTS THE HEALING PROCESS AWARD
A FEATURE OF THE “CELEBRATE THE HEALING POWER OF ART” EXHIBIT
2013 Winner of the Manhattan Arts International Award of Excellence: “The Garment” by Ober-Rae Starr Livingstone. Acrylic on canvas. 36″ x 48″. http://www.newageart.com
If the widespread impulse among artists to create artwork with a healing effect is to coalesce into a real movement, it will be thanks to visionaries like Renee Phillips and her collaborators. Renee has played a pivotal role by creating the annual juried online exhibit “Celebrate the Healing Power of Art.”
After witnessing firsthand the impact that art can have on patients while volunteering at a prominent mental hospital, Renee made it her mission to educate others about this powerful healing modality. She advocates for artists working in the realm of healing and uplifting art and writes the Healing Power of Art blog, a compendium of inspiration and information on movers and shakers in the field.
2013 Winner of the Jill Conner Critic’s Choice Award: “Autumn Reflection” by Gaia Orion. Oils on canvas. 32″ x 22″. http://www.artbygaia.com
Renee has utilized her vast curatorial experience in the development of “Celebrate the Healing Power of Art.” She has gathered together a community of artists, curators, critics, art consultants, those in the media and other art professionals, each of whom contributes to the show’s success. We owe her a debt of gratitude.
This year, Renee has asked me to collaborate by selecting one artist for an award of my own making! What an honor to be asked to create an award! How fun to seek out all the qualities I most admire in art and artists, and then to honor the embodiment of those qualities with gratitude!
Echoing the name of this blog and the intention of my own art practice, the award goes to art that supports the healing process. Healing, as opposed to Curing, is an eternally ongoing process and takes place on multiple levels: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.
The award will be given to an artist who makes a significant contribution to the field, either by identifying key elements that characterize healing artwork and using them in their art practice, and/or by intuitively producing extraordinary and beautiful artwork with a palpable healing effect.
I will be looking for beauty, communication, presence, skill, originality and a full body experience of healing. Through the use of image, color, rhythm, proportion, composition, or by other means, the artwork clearly conveys a high vibration to the viewer. I will be paying close attention to stated intentions, as well.
2013 Winner of the Manhattan Arts International Award of Excellence: “Iceberg Wasteland” by Mary Lou Dauray. Oils on canvas. 24″ x 90″. http://www.maryloudauray.com
Renee Phillips has afforded us an opportunity to witness the cutting edge of a healing art movement that is gaining momentum. By bestowing this award to an exhibitor in her “Celebrate the Healing Power of Art” show, I will have the honor of dialoguing with one gifted artist and sharing what I learn in an upcoming article. Please stay tuned!
For further information on the “Celebrate the Healing Power of Art” exhibit, including how to apply, click here.
Renee Phillips, The Artrepreneur Coach, is the author of several books and publications. She organizes exhibitions related to the healing power of art and offers advice to artists in private consultations and on her blog. She invites you to follow her on Twitter, and join her on Facebook and LinkedIn.
For further information on the artists whose work appears in this article:
Olber-Rae Starr Livingstone: www.newageart.com
Gaia Orion: www.artbygaia.com
Mary Lou Dauray: www.maryloudauray.com
art that supports the healing process 
Dear Pamela, you are so right that Renee is a true visionary and I really look forward to see all of her work and messages spread even more and become contagious among the contemporary art world. It is time for art to come back to its primary role: for uplifting and inspiring lives and the society at large as it has all throughout cultures and ages.
Thank-you, Gaia, for your vision of contemporary art returning to its roots in tradition: serving community and universal evolution.
Thank you Pamela – P.C. Turczyn – for your continued support and advancement for the healing power of art and for promoting Manhattan Arts International’s annual competition. I look forward to sharing the 2014 celebration with you. It will be a joy to see who you select to receive your award!
Thank you Pamela – P.C. Turczyn – for your continued support and advancement for the healing power of art and for promoting Manhattan Arts International’s annual competition. I look forward to sharing the 2014 celebration with you and learning which artist you select to receive your award!