In 2017 an opportunity to explore Public Art and Public Health lead me to a 2020 enrollment in an online Graduate Certificate Program at the University of Florida. I am currently studying as part of the first cohort of the Arts in Public Health Graduate Certificate Program at the University of Florida's Center for Arts in Medicine.
The Program consists of two eight-week courses, a sixteen-week practicum, and one additional eight-week course. I have completed the first two courses and am preparing for my Practicum in the Spring of 2021. The pandemic presents logistical challenges to delivering hands-on arts in health experiences; however, virtual delivery offers alternative opportunities. Some work samples based on assignments in the courses to date are presented here.
SPRING 2021 UPDATE:
My 12 week Hands On Arts in Public Health Practicum, Voluntary Expressions, is being hosted by the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts Miami Dade County as an online opportunity for volunteer staff furloughed since pandemic closures. The creative engagement employs poetry as a tool through one hour online sessions twice weekly. At this time we are crafting group poems and developing our final artifact(s). The Practicum will be completed by the end of April 2021 with a Professional seminar to follow.