On Wednesday, Sept. 18, members of the UMass Chan Medical School community gathered to celebrate diversity and mutual connections at the opening of the art exhibit, “Advancing Belonging Together,” curated through a partnership between the Committee on Equal Opportunity and Diversity (CEOD) Advocacy Subcommittee and the Lamar Soutter Library. The exhibit, presented to enhance and enrich the cultural environment for the Medical School community, features the work of seven artists who, through various art forms, convey what the theme means to them.
Jayna Mistry, SNAP program manager at ForHealth Consulting, submitted three fluid, abstract pieces. The pieces, “Unified Spectrum,” a rainbow of colors; “United Path,” a palette of shades of blue representative of UMass Chan colors; and “Harmony Mirrors,” a black and white piece, “all work together to convey our collective effort and progress,” Mistry said. She explained that the purpose of her pieces is to relate how “we all progress together irrelevant of who we are, where we come from and what our backgrounds are.”
Mary Piorun, PhD, MBA, MSLS, director of library services and associate professor of nursing, submitted seven quilts for the exhibit. When thinking about the connection between her quilts and the exhibit’s theme, “The phrase, ‘leave no one behind’ comes to mind,” said Dr. Piorun.
“All of us are moving forward. Everybody on my staff is making sure that we provide the best services that we can to our users of the library so that they can do their jobs and that we can educate doctors, scientists, nurses, to conquer disease and solve scientific problems,” Piorun said.
Tran Tran, PhD student in the lab of Paul R. Thompson, professor of biochemistry & molecular biotechnology, submitted an owl she created through the process of printmaking. Tran noted that it is hidden in a sea of black and white and takes focus to see. She hopes the UMass Chan community can take time to focus and see how the three schools are connected.
“Research plays a significant role in clinical practice and vice versa,” she said.
Jorge Sanchez, MEd, program director for diversity and inclusion at ForHealth Consulting, and Valerie Wedge, LICSW, CEAP, director of the Office of Well Being, are co-chairs of the CEOD Advocacy Subcommittee. Sanchez expressed enthusiasm that this event might become an annual outlet for creative expression at UMass Chan.
“The art exhibit is intended to reflect the rich diversity of our learning and working environment and most importantly we wanted to transform space where our community feels safe, supported and accepted, and that they feel they belong at UMass Chan,” Wedge said.
The exhibit runs through December in the library.
