Artwork by pediatric cancer patients on display October 21 – November 12
HOUSTON, October 21, 2024 – The Periwinkle Foundation presents the 2024 Making A Mark® art exhibition highlighting art and creative writing from children and teens at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Center at the newly opened Helix Park complex in the Texas Medical Center (TMC) from Oct. 21 – Nov. 12.
The exhibit, part of the Periwinkle Arts In Medicine (PAIM) program, features more than 40 original pieces of individual art and creative writings by children with cancer and blood disorders. Making A Mark® can be found on the first floor of the TMC3 Building in the 37-acre Helix Park development, located at 7255 Helix Park Dr. and is open to the public.
From Oct. 23 – 25, the National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH) will hold its eighth annual conference, NOAHCON, in Houston. Conference attendees are invited to tour Making A Mark® and participate in sending “Postcards from the Road” to individual artists about their work. NOAH is a catalyst for the collective voices of arts in health; coordinating, advocating, and amplifying the impacts of the arts on health and wellbeing.
TMC is the world’s largest life science ecosystem, spanning across three distinct campuses – TMC Medical Campus, TMC Innovation Factory and TMC Helix Park, in the heart of Houston. Helix Park includes approximately five million square feet of anticipated development.
The plan emphasizes creative interactions between people, institutions, and ideas, bolstered by a state-of-the-art infrastructure that will support a collaborative mix of healthcare, life science, and business users. It provides an interconnected chain of inspiring green spaces that offer events and programming for the entire Houston community.
“The Periwinkle Foundation is thrilled to present Making A Mark® in this dynamic new space in Houston’s world-renowned Texas Medical Center,” says Doug Suggitt, Executive Director of The Periwinkle Foundation. “We appreciate the opportunity provided by TMC to showcase the artwork of pediatric cancer patients for the public.”
Suggitt went on to note that the availability of artistic opportunities in healthcare settings can be a vital resource in helping patients cope with an acute illness. Art enhances the healing environment and treatment experience and is particularly helpful in relieving stress in children who are undergoing chemotherapy treatment or blood transfusions. Making music, singing songs, dancing, watching plays, writing poetry and creating visual art are an important part of the healing process.
Community members are invited to stop by through November 12 to view the Making A Mark® exhibit at Helix Park in the Texas Medical Center.
For more information about the Periwinkle Foundation and its programs and events, please visit www.periwinklefoundation.org.
Link to photos here
Photo credit: Larry Geiger