Opening Reception

                          "IN STRENGTH"                   a group show by artists connected with breast cancer

Thank you to everybody who came. Our mission is to further educate, raise awareness, and support our charities through a portion of the sales from the artworks. We wish to explore and create a community, those who share a sense of connection.

Pamela Schoenberg, owner/director of dnj Gallery, and Ted Meyer, founder of Art and Med, are thrilled to present the exhibition, “In Strength”: a group show by artists connected to breast cancer. Shedding light on the challenges of living with a chronic disease, the Art and Med program, curated by dnj Gallery, includes a ten-week art exhibit and corresponding community-focused events. The Art and Med program is designed to increase awareness, further education, and raise funds for charities.

In 2024, Pamela Schoenberg recognized the need for community among people living with long-term illness. She shifted her focus at dnj Gallery from a solely commercial space to one with a charitable and educational perspective, and deals with medical patients/artists. In 2019–2022, she studied nutritional science and preventative medicine. In 2023, she then received her certification as a registered Health Coach.  Schoenberg combines her two passions, art and health, and thus presents art by individuals living with chronic illness to tell their stories, foster community, and create safe, supportive spaces for those who are chronically ill.

Effective communication and making your goal simple and easy to understand is a priority in the Art and Med curriculum, which includes listening, feeling and nonverbal body movements. Ted Meyer, the founder of this program, is the artist-in-residence at the USC Keck School of Medicine. He began this strategy to demonstrate to the med school students the importance of the patients’ voices. Art and Med elicits an appreciation of the human aspect of the illnesses.

Presented in partnership with Tower Cancer Research Foundation, the exhibition brings art and advocacy together to illuminate the realities of breast cancer, honor the strength and individuality of those affected, and encourage meaningful conversations about women’s health, healing and the continuing need for research and support. The exhibition is also sponsored by: AARP California, The American Cancer Society, Living Beyond Breast Cancer, Cancer Support Community Los Angeles, Living Beauty, Keep a Breast and Sharsheret.

dnj Gallery’s multimedia exhibition “In Strength” explores the cognitive journey of women suffering from breast cancer. For instance, as dnj Gallery artist Jill Covell explains in “Jill’s Journey,” ‘Jill’s Journey’ stands as more than just an exhibition; it is a heartfelt invitation to share in a collective experience of courage, resilience, and healing.” (This is a separate installation made up of paintings, a map and an accompanying story that guide viewers through her experience.) Jasmyn Marie, a preservation artist featured in the show, describes her artwork in similar terms: “My journey as a preservation artist began not from a desire to decorate, but from a profound need to hold onto time.” The remaining artists in “In Strength” express the stories of personal growth -- inviting viewers into the lived experience of breast cancer through the eyes of those who know it firsthand.