Medicinal Bath Workshop with Artist José Ortiz-Pagán

PC: José Ortiz-Pagán

The FREE medicinal bath workshop with José Ortiz-Pagan will take place on Saturday, October 12 from 4-6 pm in The Sanctuary at Fleisher Art Memorial, 719 Catharine Street Philadelphia, PA. Parking is available on-site. This event is fully wheelchair accessible and equipped with ramps and elevators. This event will be primarily in Spanish with English interpretation provided. This medicinal bath workshop is organized in conjunction with Convalescence, an immersive art installation by artist Pepón Osorio presented by Thomas Jefferson University.

José Ortiz-Pagán will lead in sharing and creating a medicinal bath. This process is a custom that was passed down to him by his grandmother, who was a source of healing for her family and community. He believes that “although we may not all be healers, we are all keepers of information.” Attendees will create herbal bath soaks, working with rose petals, Anamu-Guinea Hen (petiveria alliacea), and Menta poleo (pennyroyal mint), plants often used by Caribbean folk medicine healers and are specific to healing long-endured trauma. Live music and non-denominational group prayers will accompany this immersive spiritual workshop. It will conclude with special instructions on how attendees should take their sacred baths when in the comfort of their homes. A traditional vegan-friendly Puerto Rican soup, Asopao de Gandules, or Pigeon Pea Stew, will also be served at the event.

José Ortiz-Pagán, a Puerto Rican multi-disciplinary artist based in Philadelphia, is acclaimed for his dedication to using art as a powerful tool to address social issues. Throughout his career, he has initiated community art projects in the city, aiming to preserve cultural presence and empower individuals and communities. Within his process is embedded the use of radical imagination and hope as strategies for change. Ortiz-Pagán employs spirituality as a means of resistance, creating meaningful experiences that honor and validate diverse communities within various diasporas.

“Our abuela provided us with the foundational tools that made medicine readily available as most of the plants we used were abundant in the local vegetation. This traditional knowledge allowed us to confront our modern ailments with a healing system that cared for all aspects of our well-being, including our bodies, minds, spirits, and hearts,” says José Ortiz-Pagán. “It is crucial that we continue to preserve and promote such knowledge in a society that often prioritizes profit over our collective health. The plants that we, as a family and community, use for our plant baths enable us to move forward in a world that constantly challenges our existence. Through these practices, we not only value the power nature offers but also honor the people who gifted us such valuable knowledge. It allows us to resist and, therefore, live.”

Thank you to our community partner, Fleisher Art Memorial, for making this event possible. Major support for Convalescence has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from the Wagner Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Questions? Contact Chelsea-Mia Pierre, Public Programs Manager for Convalescence, at chelseamia.pm@gmail.com.

About Fleisher Art Memorial
Founded in 1898, Fleisher Art Memorial is one of the country’s oldest nonprofit community art schools. Operating under the mission to “make art accessible to everyone, regardless of economic means, background, or artistic experience,” it is a source of inspiration, creativity, and community. Its founder, Samuel S. Fleisher, believed that art is one of society’s greatest assets and equalizers, and from the doorway of his Graphic Sketch Club, “invited the world to come and learn art.” Every year, more than 20,000 people experience the transformative power of art by participating in tuition-free classes, workshops, exhibitions, and community-based programs. To learn more about Fleisher Art Memorial, please visit fleisher.org.

About Convalescence
Thomas Jefferson University presents Convalescence, an immersive installation by internationally renowned, Philadelphia-based artist Pepón Osorio. Convalescence is free and open to all from September 3 to November 1, 2024, on Jefferson’s health sciences campus in Center City Philadelphia, continuing Osorio’s practice of premiering works in the environments that inform them. Convalescence is rooted in the artist’s personal experience of cancer diagnosis and treatment. The project highlights systemic health and health care inequities in the U.S. and includes stories from other Philadelphians of color who have lived through, or are currently experiencing, life-threatening illnesses. Drawing on relationships with groups typically underserved by the health care system, Osorio’s installation explores the nature of community-based care. The project extends Jefferson’s ongoing medical humanities program, which engages students in the arts and humanities in parallel with their health professions education. A series of public programs created with community-based partners will be coordinated in conjunction with the installation. To learn more about Convalescence, go to Jefferson.edu/Convalescence.