It was a big night for the Northshore art community, and in more ways than one.
On Sept. 26, St. Tammany Hospital Foundation’s Healing Arts Initiative hosted its latest gallery series, the first since being forced into COVID hibernation three years ago.
If that news wasn’t big enough, the exhibit is also the initiative’s largest yet, showcasing more local artists and more artworks than ever before.
“The exhibit we celebrate tonight is entitled SEAsons of Grace and heART,” said Becky Carson-Parks, a foundation board member and chair of its Healing Arts Committee. “The pieces you are about to see cover a wide range of styles and mediums, all selected through a truly rewarding, but at times difficult, jury process.”
That theme, she said, not only described the artwork on display but it also aligns neatly with the health system’s mission.
“Of all the ideas that we put out there, two concepts kept coming back: grace and heart,” she said. “Grace is a catalyst for greater good, whether it’s at home, at work, out in our community or here at St. Tammany Health System. Heart is the central or most vital part of something. It is compassion and the seat of life and strength. We hope these images will inspire a call for good within all of us.”
In all, the exhibit – dedicated in honor of immediate past Healing Arts Chairwoman Mary Lee – features 117 pieces from 27 local artists, all on public display through Dec. 8 on the first floor of St. Tammany Health System’s flagship St. Tammany Parish Hospital.