Educational Media Reviews Online

Art and creating art seem to enrich, energize and bring pleasure to people who are dealing with disabilities. This film is the story of an art program in an inpatient rehabilitation facility, the Art Studio at the Northeast Center for Special Care in New York state. Run by an artist,Bill Richards, the program worked to develop the patients' creativity,no matter what the degree of their impairment.The authors of the film repeatedly explain that the patients are not engaged in “art therapy”—they are creating art. The goals of the activity are different from the goals of traditional art therapy, but it is still very therapeutic for the patients, their families, and the staff at the facility.

The film is technically very strong, and tells the story in a straightforward, entertaining and clear way. Meryl Streep provides the narration, adding an even more professional polish to a technically excellent film. We get to know the patients and a little of their history, but their activity in the Art Studio is the primary focus of what we learn about them. Interestingly, some of the patients were very artistic before their injuries and they have insightful things to say about their losses and the adaptation they have to make. The patients include all ages and various disabilities; one of the patients was a veteran, so the film may be particularly useful to those working with injured veterans.

Organizations who serve people with disabilities that want to establish an art program would find this useful to help them set guidelines and to explain the value of the program to potential funders. Students in art therapy, or any kind of rehabilitation or recreational therapy program should see the film to help acquaint them with this patient population, to energize them about their profession, and to reinforce the fact that the arts can help us heal.