I write about my search for solace in art and nature, lessons learned often in the most unexpected ways.
I serve and facilitate by applying lessons learned to issues we face, as we navigate the present and future of museums for visitors and for those of us who work within these cherished places.
The Solace Project is about human vitality. My value proposition is that culture hits the core of wellbeing. If you don’t believe me, read my newsletter (sign up at the bottom of this page).
Now, more than ever, cultural institutions are in the business of repairing the human spirit by encouraging us to enter, look, ponder, question, understand. Museums, galleries, parks, gardens, and virtual connections these days, offer safe spaces for walking and looking together. Those of us fortunate to work in culture can find solace in our work, knowing that what we do heals, and that we can have a transformational impact on our society.
The Solace Project focuses on recognizing deep-breath moments and turning them into guiding principles for individual practice and enterprise-wide teamwork, through story-sharing, workshops, and much more. Part human capital consulting, part visitor engagement, part innovating toward new forms of revenue generation, The Solace Project sees awe-inspiring experiences within museums and parks and gardens as the means to repair our human spirit by encouraging us to enter, look, ponder, question, understand.
Solace comes from inquiry, courage, and understanding, the same thing that founded each and every cultural institution in our country.
Solace is different than peace or happiness. Solace accepts that disruption, difference, fear, and grief will always be present, and that when we meet the scary, the uncertain, and the trauma head on and find the means to self-soothe and find comfort we feel even better. Or, as Robert Frost put it, “The best way out is always through.”
I know this firsthand, emerging from personal trauma and a continual healing process of serious time walking in nature (mysterious and breathtaking) and looking at art (complex and awe-inspiring). Art and nature challenge and refresh my spirit every day.
Art and nature change my mind.
Subscribe to my newsletter (link below) for what I’m researching, watching, and hearing. And please, keep walking outdoors and visiting museums and galleries and gardens.