Eyes of Light - Arts in Health

Under the framework of a research grant from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture regarding Arts in Health, Eyes of Light organization has collaborated with the visual artist Chloe Pare to implement an artistic workshop for women with cancer. In February 2022 an online workshop entitled Planetary Systems was held with the participation of 11 women from different parts of Greece.
During the design phase of this project, the intention was to combine the remoteness due to the pandemic restriction, with a more tangible aspect. Therefore, it was decided, also in accordance with the artist’s practice, to produce a kit of art objects to be delivered to the participants, and function as a source material of the workshop. The paper objects were designed by the artist in a vector based programme, and were then laser-cut. Their purpose was for the participants to interact with, to manipulate and transform them in an abstract, subjective and playful manner. The design was inspired by the various motifs and phenomena of the surface of the Earth, Sun and the Moon, as the theme of the workshop revolved around these issues. These notions were used symbolically, and were therefore connected abstractly to personal perceptions and attitudes.
The selection of the participants followed an open call addressing women with recent diagnosis of breast or/and gynecological cancer, and distributed through the organization’s channels, various cancer support organizations throughout Greece, as well as selected press. The selection criteria was recent diagnosis, equitable geographical representation and age diversity.
The workshop consisted of three weekly online group meetings and a free time in between for each participant to experiment with the material and make her own creations. The structure of the meetings followed, more or less, a certain pattern: instructions of the artist-facilitator on how to use each object, collective simultaneous creation, showing and discussing the creations of each participant. At the end, a video documentation was created by the artist combining the material sent by the participants, where the different narrations and creations intertwined.

Therapeutic Photography Workshops comprise a year-round program by the non-profit organization Eyes of Light - Arts in Health Hub. The workshops are provided free of charge, to all adults who have experienced cancer in their lives. The project began in 2019 and it aims to improve the emotional well-being and the quality of life of cancer patients and survivors.
The workshops are a combination of photography with other creative and participatory practices, such as self-awareness techniques, group photo-shootings, painting and collage, body expression, group games, etc. The organization has been recognized internationally by the Phototherapy Centre of Canada and has been awarded as the "Best Therapeutic Photography Workshop Provider" by the Private Healthcare Awards 2021 of Global Health & Pharma in the United Kingdom.