Art + Medicine: Training the Next Generation of Mindful Physicians with Bonnie Pitman

Artroverted

After her untimely retirement from her career as the director of the Dallas Museum of Art, Bonnie set her sights on bringing arts education to the field of medicine. After countless visits to clinics to diagnose her respiratory illness, she noticed a pattern among doctors examining her. They spent their time focusing on her chart but not her. Having spent her life teaching people about art she set about to design a curriculum that would teach doctors to examine the patient holistically. She started by bringing students from UT Southwestern Medical Center to the Dallas Museum of Art and training them how to look at works of fine and decorative art, from Neo-gothic bed frames to Congolese power figures she gave doctors the tools to approach their patients mindfully.

In our conversation, we talk about her childhood visiting the studios of Robert Motherwell and Hans Hofmann, her career in museums, her Do Something New™ practice and her trailblazing work with art and medicine.
Learn more about Bonnie's work at the UT Center for Brain Health and her courses with art and medicine at the University of Texas at Dallas.
Follow her on her daily Do Something New practice on instagram @bonniepitman