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As the AMWA Artist in Residence, Dr. Somalee Banerjee is planning to explore a body of work that centers around the intersection of medicine, feminism and craft. The practice of craft –for example, knitting, sequinning, sewing –has been a traditionally feminine field that has not been accepted into mainstream art until most recently, when it has been more championed by male artists. As a hospitalist, her work will center around making mixed media paintings of organs using paint, sequin and thread to create altars to organs in various states of age and health as an pay homage to all her patients. The care that goes into these traditionally feminine crafts in a way mirrors the detail-oriented time and care that physicians provide. This body of work will showcase a rare voice in art: that of a of female physicians with her unique view of the art of medicine. In addition, she is working with colleagues in the arts education field to develop and implement a simply reproducible curriculum to implement medical education through workshops at art museums to strengthen observation and communication skills while providing the space to discuss difficult topics encountered by medical trainees.
