Time with Tom Installed at Grey Bruce Health Services' Cancer Centre

The Tom Thomson Art Gallery (TOM) is pleased to announce its latest public art project in the Owen Sound community. Time with Tom, a project that connects visual arts and healing, was installed in the recently renovated Cancer Centre at Grey Bruce Health Services Hospital in Owen Sound on September 30, 2016. Time with Tom features fourteen large-scale reproductions of Tom Thomson's landscape paintings designed to bring the healing power of art into the clinical environment for the benefit of patients, families, staff, physicians and volunteers.

"The Cancer Centre renovation was completed earlier this year, and we were looking for ways to make the environment a little more welcoming for patients and families," said Mary Margaret Crapper, Director of Communications and Public Relations for GBHS. "The Tom Thomson Art Gallery agreed to help us, secured a grant, and brought the project to life. The end result is an inspiring and thoughtful permanent installation aimed at enhancing the patient experience. We are very grateful to The TOM for transforming the space."

"The Time with Tom project is as much a healing intervention as it is a meaningful connection to our Canadian landscape and identity. At the TOM, we believe that art has the ability to touch each of us deeply and profoundly – particularly in our most vulnerable moments. We hope that this project will serve as a focal point for patients, visitors and staff of GBHS and provide opportunities for healing, engagement, learning, and most importantly, enjoyment," says Heather McLeese, Curator of Temporary Exhibitions at The TOM. "Tom Thomson created lasting images that remind us of the beauty of our country. We believe that's something worth celebrating."

The TOM gratefully acknowledges support for the Time with Tom project from the Community Foundation Grey Bruce.

This project is presented by the TOM as part of its Canadian Spirit public art projects programme that started in 2012 and will culminate in 2017, marking the Gallery's 50th anniversary, the 100th anniversary of Tom Thomson's death and Canada's 150th birthday. In celebrating this year's theme, On the Edge of All the Wild Stuff, the TOM has worked with artists, individuals, organizations and businesses to explore historical events that took place in 1916 through a number of artistic disciplines such as visual and media arts, site-specific installations, performance and literature.