Healing Reflections: New Mayo Clinic Mural Depicts Growth
collaborative project aims to heal the Chippewa Valley through art
A new collaborative mural aims to share stories of healing from the Chippewa Valley amid the pandemic, representing Mayo Clinic Health System’s core values of respect, integrity, compassion, stewardship, teamwork, innovation, excellence, and – especially – healing.
The Healing Arts Committee – an initiative between UW-Eau Claire and Mayo Clinic to create healing experiences for patients through the arts – began four years ago. But when the pandemic hit, doctors knew they had to expand their notion of care beyond the clinic.
“It became apparent to me that there’s a historic nature to this,” said Dr. Todd Wright, a Mayo Clinic orthopedic surgeon and chair of the Healing Arts Committee, “that it’s going to be something that’s talked about for a long time.”
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None of us went through it alone. As a community, we stand together.
Tracy Kennedy
Local Artist
That’s when Wright worked with Patricia Kleine – provost of UW-Eau Claire – to pair stories of healing from the community with artists around Eau Claire and UWEC’s campus to provide inspiration for healing across the Chippewa Valley. That idea led to the “Healing Reflections” mural that – when completed – will stretch about 45 feet with rotating sections to be on display in the Eau Claire community. The first sections of the mural are currently on display at the Mayo Clinic Health System’s Luther Campus in Eau Claire, though the mural is not currently open for public viewing. The mural – which can comprise a single stand or comprise 15 stands (with 135 panels) as a grand display – involves than 250 people.
Common threads of the project include hope and resilience, according to participating artists.
“None of us went through it alone,” artist Tracy Kennedy said. “As a community, we stand together.”
Learn more about this artistic endeavor here.
