Blair National Arts Honor Society artwork given to hospital

On March 13, Blair's National Arts Honor Society (NAHS) will be presenting MedStar Montgomery Hospital and the Georgetown University Transplant Institute with artwork as part of the organization's annual service requirement. The group is partnering with Youth Art for Healing (YAFH), a non-profit organization dedicated to bring works created by youth to healthcare environments.

Blair's National Arts Honors' society chapter, a group of sophomores, juniors and seniors that display exceptional artistic talent, along with several other chapters in the county will be working under the direction of YAFH. The artwork, which includes both paintings and photographs, is inspired by different themes and guidelines provided by YAFH. "Youth Art for Healing provides us with the themes and dimensions for each painting, and our students get really creative with ideas based on the open-ended themes," National Art Honors Society President Dahlia Barg said. "For instance, we have paintings with the theme 'things that fly' and the artwork ranges from hot air balloons to butterflies and birds," Barg said.

The group's artwork also features photographs and paintings with motifs of nature and intergenerational relationships. The artwork will be displayed throughout MedStar Montgomery in the ICU area, Labor Unit and Emergency unit and the children's section of Georgetown University Transplant Institute.

This is the second consecutive year the group has partnered with YAFH and provided local hospitals with artwork. "Last year we partnered with YAFH and we did paintings for the Medstar Montgomery Hospital and Montgomery County Village Health care center along with a few other Montgomery County schools," Barg said, "The experience was so fulfilling, we decided to continue the partnership this year." Because of their partnership with YAFH, the National Arts Honor society received canvases and paints for their project. "YAFH provided all of the supplies, which they are able to fund through donations," club sponsor Jacqueline Armstead said. The entire project was free; however, the group must return any unused canvasses and supplies. In total, the group will present both medical centers with 13 paintings and 20 photographs.

Editor's Note: Dahlia Barg is a staff writer for Silverchips Print.