Born Out Of Tragedy, “Art As Therapy” Non-Profit Celebrates 15th Anniversary

Purvi Shah has spent a lot of time in hospital waiting rooms. 

Too much time, really.

It all began when Shah’s three-year-old son, Amaey was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2005. It was the start of a six-year medical journey for Amaey, one filled with periods of hope and disappointment, of recovery and relapse.

It was also filled with countless hours in hospital waiting rooms. To make those hours, and those places, a little less depressing, Shah would bring art projects for her, Amaey, and his older brother to work on. Using art to divert her mind away from life’s “noise” was something Shah had been doing since she was a little girl.

“The three of us would just do small projects. That kept all of us busy and distracted. I could see the boys being silly. They would laugh and they would smile,” Shah said. 

Soon, other families noticed the fun Shah and her sons were having. “Little by little all the kids started joining us and that was the beginning of something that I had no idea that was important. I thought it was important for me and my family, I didn't realize it was important for everyone in the hospital,” Shah said.

It was also the beginning of Kids & Art, a non-profit Shah founded 15 years ago.

Through artist-led workshops, online experiences, and kits mailed to patients and their families, Kids & Art is now engaging thousands of seriously ill children each year in “art as therapy” at 19 hospitals in 12 states.

It is important to Shah, that the projects always be tailored to the patients, taking into account their surroundings, their medical condition, and their age. “So if they're in the hospital, what are their needs? If they're at home what are their needs? If they are in the bone marrow transplant unit what are their needs, right?”

There was a time, not long after Amaey died in 2011 when Shah thought about stopping Kids & Art. The idea of putting herself back into that hospital setting surrounded by sick children made her worry it would trigger too many memories of Amaey. But Amaey’s brother urged her to reconsider and she eventually found that engaging sick children with art was as powerful after Amaey’s death as it was before.

“I would see a child drawing and his tongue goes out. That's what Amaey would do. Or would paint exactly how Amaey or would pick the colors the way Amaey would and I would suddenly smile,” Shah said. “I didn't know that could happen. So much pain and then joy at the same time. I think that's what's kept me going."

Still, after 15 years, Shah thinks it is time she moves on from her leadership position with Kids & Art. The organization which has its origins at a waiting room table with just her and her two sons, now spreads across the country. The non-profit is searching now for the right person to write the next chapter in the Kids & Art story.