The White Coat Warm heART exhibit celebrates artistic creativity within the medical field. Held each year at the International Congress on Academic Medicine (ICAM), the long-standing art show features work in a variety of mediums by physicians, residents, fellows, medical students, and medical faculty.
Nick Marshall (IMP Class of 2026) and Mia Kennedy (IMP Class of 2025) each submitted work to the exhibition at ICAM 2024, held in Vancouver earlier this year. We sat down with them to learn more about their creative efforts, as well as their thoughts on how art and medicine are connected.
Can you describe the pieces you submitted to the exhibition? What inspired your work and creative process?
Nick: I submitted a drawing that I called Imposter. It is a photorealistic replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Using graphite pencil and graphite powder, my goal was to create an artwork that was as close to the original as possible with respect to detail and composition.
Throughout my first and second years in medical school, I (like many others) experienced imposter syndrome. Feeling like an imposter stole from me the ability to acknowledge and accept my own achievements. As I adjusted to medical school in a new city, I was inspired to return to something I excelled at: drawing.
Mia: I actually submitted two pieces to the exhibit that were both accepted and displayed! The Happy Gut is a gouache histology painting. I was diagnosed with celiac disease when I was 12 years old. It was this experience and my encounters with exceptional doctors that inspired me to pursue becoming a physician myself. I recently moved in with another celiac med student and I made this painting of a healthy gut to serve as an “inspiration photo” in our place, which we’ve named the Villi Villa!
My second piece, The Heart of the Ocean, is a watercolour bull kelp/heart-inspired painting. Having grown up on Vancouver Island, my heart has always belonged to the ocean. This piece was inspired by the majestic kelp forests I see below the surface while paddle boarding. The imagery of a heart was inspired by a line of a Margaret Atwood poem: “All hearts float in their own deep oceans of no light.” (From “The Woman Who Could Not Live With Her Faulty Heart,” by Margaret Atwood.)
What motivated you to submit a piece into the exhibition?
Mia: Two years ago, I went to ICAM to present my research for the first time and stopped by the White Coat Warm heART exhibit as Dr. Carol-AnnCourneya was organizing the exhibit. I was blown away by the talent and passion shown by the medical professionals who submitted their art. I went to the artist Q&A session and was immediately inspired to go home and create art! I knew I had to submit my own pieces the next year, and I felt so honoured that my pieces were chosen and displayed amongst such exceptional artists this year.
Nick: In a 2014 commencement address, actor Jim Carrey said the following before sharing his own art with a large audience: “You can join the game, fight the wars, play with form all you want. But to find real peace, you have to let the armor go … Don’t let anything stand in the way of the light that shines through this form. Risk being seen in all of your glory.”
How do you think art and health/medicine are connected?
Nick: Walking the corridors at Royal Jubilee Hospital, you would be hard pressed to find a wall without art on it. Art might help a patient feel like they are somewhere other than the hospital, a family member accept loss, or a physician connect with the side of themselves they leave at home. The latter is what art does for me. That’s where the connection is for me.
Mia: I think art is something that exists overarching through all aspects of life, particularly in medicine. To me, art is deep-rooted in humility, empathy, and compassion, and it provides a way to processing emotions. As a medical student in my clinical years, art gives me a safe space to reflect on performance, recognize biases, and prioritize my own well-being to enable more meaningful connections with patients and prevent burnout.
Mia, at ICAM 2024 you also presented a study that you did with Dr. Courneya on art and narrative medicine. Can you tell us a little about that study?
Mia: I have been working on a project with Dr. Courneya investigating the role of artmaking as a mindfulness tool for medical students. I am very passionate about the mental well-being of medical students – it is well known that the medical student population experiences high rates of depression and anxiety, and I believe it is vital to provide tools for medical students to monitor and support their own well-being.
Through qualitative studies that involved medical student artmaking, our research has revealed many benefits to using artmaking as a mindfulness tool. I have presented my studies at both local and national conferences to hopefully encourage more meaningful integration of mindfulness into the medical school curriculum to prioritize medical student well-being.
Nick, is there anything else you’d like to mention?
Nick: If you are an artist and a UBC medical student, I challenge you to create a FLEX project that incorporates your art. It can be done, and it may be more unique and fulfilling than choosing to do a project you are not as passionate about.