How Do We Heal?

What can artworks tell us about how people have sought to heal from past traumas and grief? How can the process of making art become therapeutic? In what ways can objects facilitate healing and protection? This exhibition _How Do We Heal?_ addresses the connections between art and healing. It explores these timely questions as we grapple today with continued societal healing from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, international wars, and reckoning with racial injustices among others. _How Do We Heal?_ takes an expansive view of healing from different challenges and considers the role of art in these processes through the Smart's permanent collection. It is organized into six thematic areas spanning the front and back galleries: health, grief, displacement, trauma, mindfulness, and protection. This thematic exhibition brings together artworks from across time, geography, and artistic media to consider the relationship between art and healing both historically and into the present today. As you walk through the galleries, we encourage you to reflect on these questions and find connection to artworks that resonate with your own healing journey.