Witches, Cats and Flowers: Renal Dialysis patient Nicola Power launches her first art exhibition at Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts
Witches, Cats and Flowers, the first art exhibition by Renal Dialysis patient Nicola Power, was launched at Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts Centre for Arts + Health at University Hospital Waterford (UHW) on Tuesday 22 April. A capacity crowd of family, friends and staff from the Renal Dialysis Unit at UHW came together to celebrate this milestone achievement. Witches, Cats and Flowers is a beautiful collection of art created by Nicola, under the gentle guidance of Waterford Healing Arts artist Philip Cullen. Artworks are for sale from Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts at UHW, 051 842664 / info@realta.ie The exhibition continues until 6 May, and will then be on display in the reception area of the Renal Dialysis Unit at UHW for a further six weeks.
A native of Tramore, Nicola attends the Brothers of Charity Services in Waterford. She has been a Renal Dialysis patient for six years. It was during her dialysis sessions that Nicola connected with our Waterford Healing Arts programme, which supports patients through their long hours of treatment by providing opportunities to be creative through visual art, creative writing, music and storytelling.
Artist Philip Cullen has been working with the Waterford Healing Arts Programme for nearly 20 years, and when he began working with Nicola two years ago, it soon became clear that she had a unique, colourful and exuberant artistic style. Speaking at the launch, Philip said “I love Nicola’s colour and the craic that we have. It’s not easy being on dialysis; it’s a difficult thing to go through, but Nicola is always in good form. And I’m stunned, seeing the whole exhibition here tonight, its beauty and colour. Congratulations, Nicola. We did really well!”
Dr Sean Leavey, Consultant Nephrologist at UHW, also spoke enthusiastically about Nicola’s art: “Nicola is a breath of fresh air. The colour and warmth of Nicola’s creativity is fantastic. She’s a warm, colourful, joyful person, and that’s evident in her art.” Dr Leavey went on to pay tribute to the Waterford Healing Arts programme: “By sharing Nicola’s creativity with us, Waterford Healing Arts allows us as a medical team to see the person, the life that’s being lived, so it becomes not about illness, but about the person on their journey. That is critical for us.”
Jane Cullen, Clinical Nurse Manager of the Renal Dialysis Unit at UHW, added “Nicola has been an inspiration to all of us in the Renal Dialysis Unit over the course of this process. Proof of all her hard work is here tonight. Nicola, we’re immensely proud of you.”
Rebecca O’Neill from the Brothers of Charity also congratulated Nicola on her achievement: “On behalf of all of the Brothers of Charity Services, especially Tory and Nova Services, we would like to say that we are very proud of Nicola. We would like to thank the staff of the Dialysis Unit for taking care of Nicola, and also the staff of Waterford Healing Arts for helping Nicola to achieve her dream of having her own art exhibition.”
The final word went to Nicola herself, the star of the evening: “Welcome to my art exhibition. I would like to thank the Dialysis Unit staff, Philip, Maeve, Claire and Tom from Waterford Healing Arts for all their help, and also my family and friends. I hope you enjoy the evening.”
Waterford Healing Arts brings music, visual art, creative writing and storytelling to the bedside of patients at University Hospital Waterford (UHW) and other healthcare settings. This extensive arts + health programme is part of Réalta, the national resource organisation dedicated to developing arts + health in Ireland. Réalta is core funded by the Arts Council and the HSE.
www.waterfordhealingarts.com | www.realta.ie
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