AnCan and The Marsh (well renown, long-established theater company with a large following in the Bay Area and venues in San Francisco and Oakland) collaborate every 4th Wednesday of the month for Solo Arts Heal!
Our guest for September was one of our very own – Hannah Garrison!
Hannah, who lives with multiple sclerosis (MS), took a blank canvas and created a piece of visual art throughout the show as she is interviewed by Rick Davis, with questions from the audience.
San Antonio, Texas-based artist Hannah received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2014. Undiagnosed symptoms of MS started creeping into her life, resulting in a few tumultuous years. Her symptoms accelerated in severity in the spring of 2017; that summer she received her diagnosis. An identity crisis ensued, and she found that using the arts as meditation and therapy helped her to not only heal but also to become a better caregiver.
Being honest about her diagnosis to complete strangers was not only effective medicine for her but for them as well. She now teaches visual arts to those who are chronically ill—to those living with cancer, MS, and more. Inside hospitals, she creates large window paintings for patients at their bedside and has witnessed the life-changing effects of art combined with an empathetic ear. She teaches AnCan’s virtual arts classes and has been virtually teaching the arts through various other organizations since 2020, during the height of the pandemic.
Watch here:
To SIGN UP for any of our AnCan Virtual Support group reminders, visit our Contact Us page.