Welcome to the Georgetown Lombardi Arts & Humanities Program (AHP) newsletter. In this newsletter, Faculty Director Julia Langley captures the AHP's year in review and makes a call for contributions to the AHP's amazing program.

A Letter from Faculty Director

Julia Langley

Dear Friends of the AHP,



As we come to the end of 2024, I am pleased to report it was an exceptional year for the Georgetown Lombardi Arts and Humanities Program (AHP). We expanded our roster of artists-in-residence, reinvigorated the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Clinic’s Arts Exhibition program, and grew our “Continuum of Care” online classes to reach thousands of new participants across the country and around the world. A conservative estimate of our programming, both in-person and online, suggests that the AHP reaches between 40,000 to 50,000 individuals per year!

This is all possible due to the ongoing support of our donors. CuraCreativity, our new fundraising initiative, is nearing the goal of raising $10,000 this year. I hope you will consider giving a gift of any amount to the AHP. Click the button below to visit our CuraCreativity Donation Page.

Read on for highlights of what made this year so special...

Patient and Staff Care

New artists-in-residence (in clockwise order) Kinard Cherry, Tamara Wellons, Martha Spak, Jody Marshall, Martha Vance, Rashida Edmonson, Sara Matayoshi, and Jesse Palidosky

In 2024, we welcomed new artists to the AHP to deliver music and wellness to patients, caregivers, and staff. There is more music than ever in the hospital thanks to the addition of violinist Sara Matayoshi, hammer dulcimer player Jody Marshall, guitarist Jesse Palidofsky, and the return of cellist Martha Vance. Vinyasa Yoga instructor Rashida Edmonson came on board to help with the increasing demand for yoga instruction.

Our new partnership with Carnegie Hall brought musicians Tamara Wellons and Kinard Cherry to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital (MGUH) to collaborate with the Department of Psychiatry, making music for new moms and moms-to-be. Noni Ford joined the AHP, becoming our new program manager and bringing a wealth of information and talents to all of the AHP’s endeavors.

Martha Spak, Distant View, 36”x 60”

The Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Art Exhibition program introduced a variety of art collections and artists into the Adult Cancer Center Clinic for visitors and staff. Earlier this year, Sharon Wolpoff’s art exhibition, “RECOLLECTIONS,” featured her luminous oil paintings investigating the interplay of color, light and form. Currently, Martha Spak’s exhibition, “Nature’s Embrace: Healing Through Harmony” is on display. Spak’s impressionistic landscapes and bold abstract paintings focus on color theory and beautify the space for patients and staff. 

Having a robust exhibition calendar again is delightful, and the ever-changing environment is appreciated by all who spend time in the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. In February, following the closing of Spak’s exhibition, the AHP will feature the work of local artist, Sara Bardin whose hyper realistic floral paintings will be sure to engage visitors. 

Peonies at the 2024 Flower Buffet

For the last three years, the AHP has sponsored a “Flower Buffet” for our wonderful oncology nurses as part of the AHP’s Caring for the Caregiver program. This year more than 75 nurses, medical assistants and administrators had the opportunity to make their own beautiful, fresh, floral bouquet. They were able to select from an array of options including peonies, snapdragons, roses, and gerbera daisies, plus beautiful foliage to make into a unique and personalized arrangement. Lombardi clinic managers told me that is the staff's favorite event of the year.

Along with the "Flower Buffet", MGUH staff were treated to a Nurse's Lunch Workshop, featuring guided art making by artist-in-residence Jennifer Wilkin Penick and delicious catered food. Staff receive wellness and movement opportunities throughout their work day, with movement artists Katie Harris Banks and Deborah Riley routinely providing stretch breaks. Banks also leads a Gentle Yoga Class for staff offered free of charge with yoga mats included.

Day of Dance, 2024

In September, the AHP was delighted to present the 5th annual Day of Dance. Seven dancers, led by violinist Anthony Hyatt and movement artist Deborah Riley, flowed throughout the hospital, inviting participation in both movement and breathwork. Patients and staff joined the artists in filling hospital spaces with the joy of motion.

Next year, we will celebrate the 10th annual Poetry Café, an event that amplifies the voices of our community through poetry submissions. The 21st volume of Lombardi Voices, our poetry publication, will be released in the coming weeks.

Community Health and Wellbeing

Noni Ford (left) and Julia Langley (right) at the Ruesch Symposium

I was pleased to be invited to participate on a panel about wellbeing at the 15th Annual Ruesch Symposium for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancers. My colleague, Professor Hakima Amri, and I discussed integrative medicine and complementary therapies to an audience of Ruesch patients and caregivers.

At the AHP table, Noni and I had the opportunity to inform individuals with cancer and their loved ones of the amazing programs the AHP has to offer, and give out information on our online and in person services, art kits, handmade cards, and copies of our annual poetry publication, Lombardi Voices.

Image from the online class, Creativity Jumpstart: De-stress with Art

Most surprising this year was the growth of the AHP’s Continuum of Care virtual program. This series offers free online courses in visual art, yoga, knitting, expressive writing and mixed media art-making. These courses began during the COVID-19 pandemic, and have grown exponentially.

As of September 2024, the AHP has surpassed 45,000 individual registrations on our virtual platform, Eventbrite. The classes have created a community for patients and caregivers from around the world, giving participants a place to meet online and find friendship, joy, creativity, and comfort. 

Research and Education

GU medical students and faculty pose at IONA Senior Services

While our work in the hospital is primary, the AHP also endeavors to improve healthcare and medical education through teaching and research.

Teaching graduate and undergraduate students is a passion of mine. This year I led several elective courses including, “Drawing a Diagnosis,” for 2nd year medical students, “Community-Based Learning at IONA Senior Services,” for 1st year medical students, and two different Medical Humanities courses for Georgetown University undergraduates. I was thrilled to be nominated by Georgetown University undergraduate students for the 18th Annual College Honors Faculty Award.

In 2024, the AHP presented research on the benefits of using music in the ICU at the MedStar-Georgetown Research Symposium and the International Association of Music in Medicine Symposium, in Berlin, Germany. I was pleased to present a paper on the advantages of using art to teach communication skills to medical students at the National Organization for the Arts in Health Conference in Houston, Texas.

Exciting New Programs

Laurie Kanyer, Let's Fly for Ten Months, 2022, 12x12 inches, Analog Collage

Growth is the keyword for our work in 2024. I am proud to have formed an agreement with Doug and Laurie Kanyer to teach and facilitate Collage Care: The Method™. Ultimately, this exciting program will be used to improve the quality of life for patients, staff and community members through the use of collage as a therapeutic tool.

In May, Noni Ford, Tamara Wellons and I attended the “Lullaby Project” convening at Carnegie Hall in New York, NY. This led to a new collaborative program with Tami, Kinard Cherry and the MedStar Georgetown Department of Psychiatry. The work has only just begun but we have high hopes for this novel program.



AHP artists and friends at the AHP 2024 Staff Retreat

The tremendous generosity of our donors makes our work possible, I cannot communicate enough my gratitude for the Frederick H. Prince IV Hospital Staff Morale Program, the Cecilia F. Rudman Fund for the Arts and Humanities, the Kathleen A. Beard Endowment, the Wolpoff Family Fund, anonymous donors, and many, many friends.  

We have almost achieved our goal of raising $10,000 from friends this year. Please join us this Giving Tuesday in giving a gift of any amount if you have enjoyed or appreciated any of our offerings. Even the smallest gift has an outsize impact on our program. This work is our passion.

I wish you the very merriest of holidays this year and hope to see you either in person or online in 2025!

Wishing you the happiest and healthiest holiday.

Yours Truly,

The Georgetown Lombardi Arts & Humanities Program (AHP) promotes a holistic approach to healthcare for patients, caregivers, physicians, nurses, staff members, and students through the use of music, dance, expressive writing, and visual arts. These therapeutic modalities are normally provided throughout the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C., and online through Eventbrite courses. The AHP is a program of the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.