Visualize Health Equity
A Community Art Show
The National Academy of Medicine is calling on artists of all kinds to explore what health equity means to communities across the country.
Submissions are now closed. Submitted artwork was evaluated by a panel of reviewers drawn from the Culture of Health program advisory group according to the insight it brought to the subject of health equity, as well as artistic impact. 30 submissions have been chosen to appear in a pop-up art gallery on November 9, 2017 in Washington, DC. The 30 selected artists include:
Birmingham AIDS Outreach-Magic City Acceptance Center, Birmingham, AL
Véronique Vanblaere, Birmingham, AL
Connie Cagampang Heller, Berkeley, CA
Jayanti Dasgupta, Los Angeles, CA
Alvaro Garza & Marisa Garza, Modesto, CA
Michelle Tan, Oakland, CA
Antea DeMarsilis, Farmington, CT
Cristina Valentin, Farmington, CT
Center for Health Progress, Denver, CO
Tobey Busch, Washington, DC
Nonja Tiller, Washington, DC
Samuel Mendez, Chicago, IL
Shaneah Taylor, Chicago, IL
Hannah Drake, Louisville, KY
Minoo Emami, Boston, MA
Henry Ford Health System (Project S.N.A.P), Detroit, MI
Mia Keeys & Brittney Washington, Silver Spring, MDGrace Morris, St. Louis, MO
Burton Street Peace Gardens, Asheville, NC
Joel Burt-Miller, Durham, NC
Emily Kragel, Greenville, NC
Megan Ghiroli & Emma Kaywin, Brooklyn, NY
John Colavito, New York, NY
Cristina Baccin, Albuquerque, NM
Ellie Mosbaek, Portland, OR
Meagan Corrado, Philadelphia, PA
Aurinés Torres, San Juan, PR
Andrew Gonzalez, San Antonio, TX
Shannon Guillot-Wright, Galveston, TX
Wendy Sittner, Alexandria, VA
Health equity means everyone has a fair shot at living the healthiest life possible.
Personal responsibility plays a key role in health, but the choices we make depend on the choices that are available to us. For example, you might know it’s important to eat healthy foods, but what if you live in a neighborhood without a good grocery store? Or the nearest grocery store is far away and you don’t have access to a car or public transportation? Or your family doesn’t make enough money to buy fresh fruits and vegetables? When it comes to health, too many people start behind and stay behind simply because of where they live, lack of opportunity, or how society views them. Learn more about the causes of health inequity >>
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), a nonprofit research organization in Washington, DC, is calling on artists to Visualize Health Equity for a nationwide community art project.
Show us what health equity would look like to you—whether it’s access to healthy food or safe neighborhoods, good education or a living wage, clean drinking water or affordable housing, connection to cultural heritage or lack of discrimination, or any other opportunity that helps you live your healthiest life. This project is part of the NAM’s Culture of Health Program, sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which is working to identify strategies that support equitable good health for all Americans. Artwork submitted for this project will help us understand what people across the country see as the most important health challenges and opportunities facing their communities. The insights we gain will be shared with a national audience and used to inform future directions of the Culture of Health Program. Submissions are now closed. Selected artwork is featured in a permanent online gallery. Browse the artwork
- Visual and nonvisual art, such as music and creative writing, are welcome. Accepted mediums include drawings, paintings, photographs, mixed media, murals, collage, sculpture, film, poetry, digital art, performance art, and more. Please provide clear photographs of all visual artwork, from multiple angles or showing close-up detail as appropriate. Creative writing should be submitted in PDF format, and performance art or music should be submitted in video format. File size limit: 50 MB.
- You may submit previously-existing artwork, such as a community art installation, as long as you are the original artist or have formal permission from the artist to submit their work for this project.
- All entries must be accompanied by a completed submission form, which includes a brief written explanation of how your artwork relates to health equity.
- By submitting your artwork for this project, you are granting non-exclusive lifetime permission for the NAM to display, publish, and share your artwork in digital and print formats. This includes the written explanation you submit with your work. Full credit will always be given to the artist, and copyright will remain with the artist. Artwork submitted for this project will not be reproduced for purchase or profit.
- Individuals and groups may participate. Limit three submissions per person/group.
- Artists under the age of 18 must have permission from a parent or guardian to participate.
- Non-English-language submissions are encouraged. If you need help to understand these instructions, please contact Kyra at KCappelucci@nas.edu.
- The NAM reserves the right not to display, publish, or share submissions that are not responsive to the prompt or contain inappropriate language or themes.
A panel of reviewers drawn from the Culture of Health Program Advisory Group evaluated entries for creativity and responsiveness to the prompt. Eligible submissions, including the artist’s name and written explanation are displayed in a digital gallery. Select entries were chosen for display at a live gallery show during an NAM meeting in November 2017, and three artists were invited to present their work to policy makers and national health leaders during the meeting.
Interested in hosting your own Visualize Health Equity show in your community? Please contact Kyra Cappelucci (KCappelucci@nas.edu) to discuss opportunities.
Need inspiration about what’s possible for health equity? Check out our new short documentary series, Communities Driving Health Equity.
