Not much drags me from my deep work dungeon… er, desk, these days.. but when I landed an invite to @VanArtGallery’s talk on “Nature, Art & Health: exploring innovation in social prescription pathways” - I was SO DOWN. Because story time…

I spent 2014-2019 on a severe medical disability with an undiagnosed esophageal motility disorder. I was told I’d never work again, gain cognitive function, or really have a life. At one point, I had to do end of life planning… and I was given a social prescription… To use art and technology to do and see all the things I wanted before my time was up. So I spent… a year in a #VR headset. I’d go to concerts, I’d walk through historical moments, I’d travel through space, and future… and paint everything in my mind’s eye while lying horizontal. When I had the strength, I’d find myself attending gallery or exhibit that would a) let me in b) have a chair for when I’d get dizzy. In 2019, when my health started to stabilize, I picked up a brush… (and an air pig), and started creating.. leading me to join a female led art gallery on @granville_isle where I spent a few of my happiest years. And started dreaming of #granvilleisland2040. I wouldn’t be here today without that art prescription. I would have never co-founded a tech focused advocacy NFP, co-chaired the exploratory bid for @WebSummit or have become a @vanmag_com #Power50. Art changed lives. Art created GDP. Art is societal infrastructure. We must invest in this.