I'm Still Here: Healing through Art After Cancer

Krista Heide
Oct 8, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Feb 27, 2025

Art Exhibit to Share Previous Study Findings

Overview of Original Research Study

Upon receiving a cancer diagnosis, life irrevocably changes, and complex experiences of emotional distress often occur. There is a growing interest in holistic interventions for promoting patients’ well-being. We conducted a constructivist grounded theory study to understand how patients with cancer experience, utilize, and draw meaning from a mindfulness-based expressive arts group. During the group, participants engaged in mindfulness practices and then expressed themselves in various expressive art activities, including an art journal, an emotional spectrum sketchbook, a body outline, and a mandala. We gathered descriptions of participants’ experiences (N=32) through semi-structured interviews and art elicitation and analyzed data with grounded theory methods. The participants’ narratives about their artwork were crucial to understanding how they processed their cancer experiences through this group and resulted in a grounded theory.

Overview of the Art Exhibit

To share our grounded theory study findings in an engaging and meaningful way, a multidisciplinary team created an art exhibit. Our art exhibit was funded by the Manitoba Centre for Nursing and Health Research, Winnipeg Foundation, and the Manitoba Medical Services Foundation. It incorporates photographs of the participants’ artwork and an audio guide with participant quotes about their artwork read by actors. Additionally, we created an online art exhibit to allow people to access it who could not attend in person. The exhibit was well received at the International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS) Congress in Toronto (Aug 2022), Trinity Western University in BC (Oct 2022), the University of Manitoba (Jan 2023), and at CancerCare Manitoba (Jan 2023).

Over 600 people attended the exhibit, and most engaged with the audio guide so they were able to see and hear the patients' perspectives of the Expressive Arts Group and their experiences of illness. A wide range of people attended the exhibit, including members of the public, patients, family members, artists, clinicians, and policymakers. The event was covered by media, including the Winnipeg Free Press, CTV, CBC, The Aldergrove Star, and TWU and UofM News. We also evaluated (N=190) the impact of this exhibit on attendees as there was nascent research investigating the impact of arts-based knowledge translation strategies in oncology and manuscript has been submitted for publication.

Link to Online Exhibit:

Online exhibit with audio guide:

https://create.twu.ca/iamstillhere/#Home

Art Exhibit Locations:

Rieger, K.L., Duff, M., Hack, T., Creighton, A., Faucher, P., Archibald, M., Zaborniak, A., & West, C. (2022). Art exhibit: I’m Still Here: Healing Through Art After Cancer at CancerCare Manitoba, January 19 – 20 , 2023.

Rieger, K.L., Duff, M., Hack, T., Creighton, A., Faucher, P., Archibald, M., Zaborniak, A., & West, C. (2022). Art exhibit: I’m Still Here: Healing Through Art After Cancer at the College of Nursing, University of Manitoba, January 16 – 17, 2023.

Rieger, K.L., Duff, M., Hack, T., Creighton, A., Faucher, P., Archibald, M., Zaborniak, A., & West, C. (2022). Art exhibit: I’m Still Here: Healing Through Art After Cancer at Trinity Western University SAMC Gallery, October 10 – 14, 2023.

Rieger, K.L., Duff, M., Hack, T., Creighton, A., Faucher, P., Archibald, M., Zaborniak, A., & West, C. (2022). Art exhibit: I’m Still Here: Healing Through Art After Cancer at the IPOS 2022 World Congress Reimagining Psychosocial Oncology: Embracing Voices from Around the World, Toronto, Ontario, August 29 – August 31, 2022.

Publications from the Initial Study and Art Exhibit Evaluation:

Rieger, K.L., Hack, T.F., Campbell-Enns, H., Duff, M., & West, C.H. (submitted, 2025). Illuminating the Impact of an Art Exhibition for Knowledge Translation in Oncology. Manuscript submitted for publication.

Rieger, K.L., Hack, T.F., Campbell-Enns, H., Duff, M., & West, C.H. (2023). Integrating mindfulness and the expressive arts for meaning-making in cancer care: A grounded theory of the processes, facilitators, and challenges. Supportive Care in Cancer, 31(475), 1-15.

Rieger, K.L., Hack, T.F., Duff, M., Campbell-Enns, H., & West, C.H. (2023). A grounded theory of how people process their cancer experiences through a mindfulness-based expressive arts group. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology Research & Practice, 5(4):00, October-December 2023. | DOI: 10.1097/OR9.0000000000000120.

News and Media Coverage of the Exhibit:

CBC TV Interview on CBC News Manitoba: I’m Still Here: Healing Through Art After Cancer. https://artsforequity.ca/media-links