November 3, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
Concert Hall, L.R. Wilson
Venue information

The McMaster Museum of Art is pleased to welcome the Hon. Patricia Bovey as the inaugural keynote speaker for a special lecture exploring the relationship between art, health and well-being.

Drawing on her extensive experience as an art historian, curator, museum director and former Senator of Canada, Bovey will examine the growing body of evidence demonstrating the positive impacts of art on health and consider how stronger connections between the arts and health sectors can benefit individuals and communities.

ART: THE FIFTH PILLAR OF HEALTH
As the evidence of the known positive impacts of art on health have increased over recent years, art has become known as the fifth pillar of health, along with nutrition, sleep, exercise and nature. Unfortunately, public awareness of the role of art in illness prevention, cure, and ongoing well-being lags the empirical findings, thus many are deprived of the opportunity to partake in creating art or attending arts events.

As an arts worker and public policy legislator, I want artists, arts administrators, health providers, politicians and bureaucrats to engage in much more meaningful ways, across arts and health disciplines and provincial and federal jurisdictions. This talk will weave aspects of scientific and medical findings, anecdotal experiences, and economic studies over the last 40 years with my gallery programming experiences. I will also suggest critical steps to remove the arts’ stigma as frills in society, which in turn I hope will enable concrete connections between these fields and the public with meaningful benefits.

ABOUT THE HON. PATRICIA BOVEY,LL.D, DCL, D.LITT, FRSA, FCMA, FDFS
Patricia Bovey is an art historian, curator, emerita museum director and former member of the Senate of Canada (2016-2023) representing Manitoba. She served as director of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and the Winnipeg Art Gallery, and founded St. Boniface Hospital’s Buhler Gallery in Winnipeg.

Her books include Pat Martin Bates: Balancing on a Thread (2013), Don Proch: Masking and Mapping (2019), and Western Voices in Canadian Art (2023). She has lectured and taught extensively on art history, particularly that of Western Canada, curating, museum and governance studies, and cultural policy, focusing currently on art and health, international art fraud and public policy, and cultural diplomacy.

She has served on many arts and university boards, including the National Gallery of Canada and the Canada Council of the Arts, and chaired the boards of the University of Manitoba and Emily Carr University of Art and Design. She is currently a member of the Confederation Centre for the Arts Board, the National Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, the Roberta Bondar Foundation, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Board. The recipient of many awards and honours, she has received Honorary Degrees from York University, the University of Manitoba, the University of Winnipeg and St John’s College.

This lecture will be recorded and uploaded to the Museum’s YouTube channel.

For accessibility/accommodations, please email us:
museum@mcmaster.ca

Image credit: Senate of Canada