CHARLOTTE — There’s a new program at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art that’s promoting healing and battling loneliness through art.
For Julie Wohrer of Fort Mill, it’s turned into a place that she’s grown to love.
“Seeing art in person is so much different than seeing it online,” Wohrer said. “There is something about seeing it in person and even reading about the artist that it can literally take your breath away.”
Wohrer moved to the Charlotte area from Chicago in 2020, right as the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“It was just a double whammy. And you get comfortable being by yourself, kind of not leaving the house, and a lot of times we just need a push. And this program has been the greatest push I could have asked for," Wohrer said.
The program she’s talking about is called Art on Prescription. It’s a partnership between the museum and Novant Health, and it’s allowed her and dozens of others to visit the museum and other art houses for free. Participants are also welcome at the Charlotte Ballet, Clayworks, and Three Bone Theatre.
“The arts remind us what it means to be human,” said Todd Smith, executive director at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art.
Smith said it’s part of a local effort to combat loneliness. This comes after the U.S. Surgeon General declared loneliness an “epidemic” in 2023.
"I think our world has become less and less availing itself to how we can connect. So the arts are a very easy way for people to come together," Smith said.
Christy Napier, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner with Novant Health, has referred clients to the art program.
“Humans need to connect. That’s innate in us,” Napier said. “I think it can pull people out of their headspace, like the depression and anxiety.”
She says it’s been a wonderful tool for her patients who have tried it.
“When you’re present and engaged in something creative and a part of it, whether you’re participating and creating with your hands or you’re watching it, you’re more in the present,” Napier said.
Wohrer describes it as a Godsend.
“I think that mental illness and/or loneliness is a much more common thing, but people are ashamed, afraid to talk about it, and I think talking about it normalizes it,” Wohrer said.
Currently, you must be referred to the program by Novant Health. However, museum leaders hope to expand to help more people in the community in the years to come.
>>You can find mental health resources near you with our county-by-county guide, at this link.