Please introduce yourself and how you’re connected with Artist Trust.

Hiiiiiii! My name is Ginger Ewing (she/her) and my connection to Artist Trust goes back to circa 2010-ish when AT had the Ambassador Program. I was Artist Trust’s Eastside Ambassador, which means I helped spread the word about Artist Trust opportunities, and even helped to organize an AT event or two on this side of the state. Since then, I’ve acted as a participant for many grant award panels, and I also currently sit on the Artist Trust Board.

What does mental health and wellness mean to you?

When talking about the role artists and the arts play in our lives, I often say that we need to feed people’s bellies, but we also need to feed their hearts, their minds, and their souls. And I suppose I think of wellness in a similar way. An amalgamation of habits/patterns/routines that allow us to nurture our emotional selves in ways that are both primal and necessary. Of course, wellness also not only relies on our ability to access those needs, but to act on those needs. I obviously could not be further from an expert on this subject matter, but I do feel the more easily we are able to connect with what makes us feel whole, the healthier we become.

What are some ways you incorporate mental health and wellness in your life?

As cliche as it sounds, I feel most at ease when I’m able to connect with the earth in some way. A walk with my dogs. Digging in the garden. Floating in water. Am I always good at carving out this time? Absolutely not. But even if it’s just 5-10 minutes a day, when I give myself permission to turn towards what calms my soul, I always feel better.

This annual program series aims to highlight different ways art and creative practices intersect with mental health and wellness. Why is it important for artists and creatives to think about mental health practice?

Art is a necessary and central component of helping us to understand ourselves and the world around us. Art connects us by bringing people and ideas together. Art heals us by giving us a voice and self expression. Art literally saves lives. And while I know I’m preaching to the choir here, as conduits of such power and transformation, it’s imperative artists take care of themselves in ways that they so often take care of others.

Additionally, the often harrowing and emotionally draining work of pushing our political, economic, and social systems to do better, be better, is a role that artists often take, and another crucial reason artists must find ways to incorporate mental health habits into their overall artistic practices.

You do so much work in your community through different endeavors, one of which is Terrain. Can you talk about your work with Terrain and how community relates to wellness?

We believe art and creativity are the connective tissue of our shared humanity. Therefore, much of our work is committed to breaking down silos and inviting people in. We work hard to provide spaces where people feel safe. Where, together, we get to reflect, we get to ideate, to challenge ourselves, and each other, and to celebrate one another, as well as to heal. And while we have numerous programs and events that we run, it is these principles in which all of our programs stem from, and I feel, directly relate back to the health and happiness of our community.

How can Artist Trust continue to support artists across Washington State?

I feel like support, in its most meaningful forms, is built on genuine and reciprocal relationships. These kinds of relationships take trust, and they also take time. In many ways this means Artist Trust must show up for communities on their turf and on their terms, no strings attached. The good news is that Artist Trust’s staff is not only earnest, but brilliant, and have spent a considerable amount of time laying the foundation for these kinds of relationships to flourish. And as Artist Trust continues to build upon this work, I think we’ll not only see ATs impact deepen, but artists, too, will be excited to engage in more meaningful ways.

 

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Ginger Ewing is an arts educator, advocate and administrator living in Spokane. She began her career as the Curator for Cultural Literacy at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture (MAC) where she developed and administered many successful programs from scratch. This includes a professional development program for regional high-school students interested in becoming exhibit interpreters; a K-20 American Indian educational program; and a monthly after-hours program meant to draw in new museum goers. At the MAC she also helped to curate many exhibitions and was trained in Visual Thinking Strategies, a student-centered teaching methodology centered around art.

Ginger is currently the Executive Director of the arts non-profit Terrain, which builds community and economic opportunity for artists in the Inland Northwest. In addition to putting on large-scale events, Terrain also runs a permanent gallery space, a performing arts space, a retail storefront, an arts-driven beautification program, and a professional development program for creative entrepreneurs. In addition to Artist Trust, Ginger sits on the Boards of Whipsmart, Keep Music Live, and the Washington State Arts Commission, as well as the Advisory Committee for All in Washington. She also loves dogs, especially pugs.