The Northern Illinois University Art Museum’s “Very Well, Thank You”: The Arts as a Means to Well-being exhibition opens Friday, March 26, 2021 and runs through May 15, 2021. The exhibition investigates the unique role and way the visual and performing arts assist in maintaining social, psychological and physical health and happiness.

Artists were selected from a national call for entry and invited to participate because of their interest in presenting work that attempts to examine how the arts contribute to well-being through visual harmony, balance, color, humor, being in the moment and process.

Featuring artists: Jan Bolander, Cynthia A. Boudreau, Zachary Cahill, Donna Castellanos, Whit Forrester, Jeanne Garrett, Maria Gedroc, Jessica Gondek, Andrew Ellis Johnson, Judith Joseph, Savannah Jubic, Cleo Krueger, Dean Krueger, Lim Sieu Lian (SLim), Christina Loraine, Julie A. Mars, Benjamin Merritt, Taweesak Molsawat, Alfred Stark, Linda Stein, Veronica Storc, Rhonda Wheatley and unidentified.

A full calendar of events including a series of public virtual programs may be found by visiting http://go.niu.edu/wellbeingevents.

Also on view: “Well Enough, Considering...” Artists take a mid-pandemic look at COVID-19.

Image Credit: Whit Forrester. Fig. 43 Aloe Vera, San Francisco, CA. 2016. Archival inkjet print with applied gold leaf, (44 x 62 in. edition of three)