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New Art Space in Neurology Embraces Diversity and Equity

Monday, April 22, 2024

The Department of Neurology has opened the doors on a new art gallery that will feature diverse artistic voices. Under the stewardship of noted Rochester artist Shawn Dunwoody, the Unity Gallery will leverage art to provoke thought, encourage dialogue, and celebrate the voices, minds, and faces that shape the community and medicine.

“The population of the United States is not adequately represented in the field of medicine,” said Blanca Valdovinos, MD, associate chair of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice for the Department who helped lead efforts to create the new gallery. “The Unity Gallery is designed to be a focal point where faculty, staff, residents, and visitors encounter a visual narrative that embodies the inclusivity and diversity integral to the Department's identity and represents the commitment to creating an environment where everyone feels a sense of belonging.”

“The population of the United States is not adequately represented in the field of medicine,” said Blanca Valdovinos, MD, associate chair of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice for the Department who helped lead efforts to create the new gallery. “The Unity Gallery is designed to be a focal point where faculty, staff, residents, and visitors encounter a visual narrative that embodies the inclusivity and diversity integral to the Department's identity and represents the commitment to creating an environment where everyone feels a sense of belonging.”

The Unity Gallery is in Department of Neurology’s Joynt Corridor located in 5.4300 in Strong Memorial Hospital and is open to visitors from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM on weekdays. The works can also be viewed virtually on the Unity Gallery website.

“Art opens ourselves up to more perspectives, to more cultures, broader ways of thinking about things, and it can build critical thinking skills,” said Bob Holloway, MD, MPH, chair of the Department of Neurology.  “Art can build empathy with people, and those are very humanistic traits that not only make us better people, but it can also make us better physicians. Our primary job is to make people feel seen, feel heard, understand their perspectives, walk in their shoes, and then we can partner with them better.”