Curated Spaces

Throughout the common areas of Haven House, there are several spaces where the curator will regularly remove some art objects and replace them with different pieces. This adds some mental stimulation and shows that attention is being paid to residents' environment for their benefit.

It should Trauma recovery requires a stable environment, this is primarily achieved through functional aspects, i.e., physical and emotional safety, continuity of personal relationships, and consistent routines and structure. Art curation makes only occasional, limited, and purely visual decorative changes which should have net positive effects in all but the most extreme circumstances. However, in the event a resident is particularly unstable, therapists can order all curation to be paused.

threats to physical or emotional safety, the continuity of personal relationships, or changes to routines, status, or structure.

This curation allows a controlled amount of change without causing anxiety—much like maintaining fresh flower displays, but with art.

But in most cases, purely visual changes

Using software developed for this project, the curator can also remotely update the artwork on all of the Digital Art Displays. This includes those in all of the bedrooms at Haven House and the digital triptych in the living room, as well as the displays in each of the apartments at Cloud Nine Studios.

The curator can follow stated preferences of the resident, or the curator can also be directed by therapists to choose works of art that communicate emotions and themes appropriate for each residents' stage of recovery. This allows therapists to deliver gentle, personalized environmental reinforcement at crucial points in their patients' recovery.

Experiencing regular, but changes to the their environment can help mitigate residents' depression and feelings of worthlessness or detachment.

New art does more than just break up the monotony.

Trauma recovery is often slow and gradual, to the point where some get frustrated and lose hope because they feel like they're not getting better.

Visual environmental changes serve as cues that can help residents note the passage of time, organizing their time into spans which can be compared, helping them to recognize and celebrate their own progress.

which can help them in turn acknowledge , which can be harder to recognize without