“Play for Creativity and Wellbeing” with Eve Blouin
In this evidence-based talk, participants will learn that creativity is a process with distinct stages, and that each stage of this process can be used as a tool for wellbeing. We will explore the creative process through the psychology of play as play allows for a curious, non-judgmental exploration of the self.
“Thing Provocations” with Allison Morehead
Allison will discuss how she has used a playful practice of “thing provocations” in both art museums and medical museums. Rooted in avant-garde art practices such as Dada and Fluxus, “thing provocations” animate new conversations, new encounters, and new relationalities among people, spaces, and things, including things designated and not designated as art.
“The Physician as an Artist” with Max Montalvo
Gesture drawing can be used as an innovative arts-based method for medical trainees to help develop a more holistic approach to clinical medicine and to deepen the physician’s appreciation of patient experiences.
Eve Blouin-Hudon, PhD, is a positive psychologist and expert on creativity and imagination. She is a university instructor at Carleton University in the Department of Psychology, where she teaches courses on creativity, play, and innovation. She is also the founder of Bevy Creative, a consulting agency delivering evidence-based workshops, talks, and one-on-one tools to both individuals and organizations.
Max Montalvo, MD, is an award-winning visual artist and a practicing emergency room physician in Kingston, Ontario. He has directed and produced music videos for various Canadian musicians, most notably The Tragically Hip, earning the Much Music best rock/alternative video award for the band’s single ‘In A World Possessed By The Human Mind’ (2017). Further collaboration with the Hip produced the short film ‘Raspoutine’, an inside-the-studio look at the band’s album recording process and ‘161!’, an online visual poem that explores human perception. Montalvo directed his first feature length film, ‘El Payo’ (2009), a documentary chronicling the tragic story of David Phillips, an obscure and influential non-gypsy guitarist who spawned a vibrant flamenco culture still thriving across Canada. The documentary received the People’s Choice award at the Bay Street Film Festival (2010) and the Royal Reel Award at the Canada International Film Festival (2010).
Montalvo blends his passion for the arts with his role as a physician. He is actively involved in the use of visual art, film and sound in medical education, creating a series of short films that have been used in the Faculty of Emergency Medicine at Queen’s. Several medical conferences have featured his workshops, guiding participants in the use of the short-film genre as a novel method of medical teaching. Montalvo appeared as a guest on CBC’s White Coat Black Art in the episode ‘Where art and medicine meet’.
Allison Morehead, PhD, Associate Professor of Art History and Cultural Studies at Queen’s University, studies the links between modern art and the medicalization of modern life. Her pedagogical practice, including work in the critical medical humanities, emphasizes first-person encounters and interactions with things in the world, both art and non-art.