June 29, 2026

Your generosity saved lives in ways you might not expect throughout 2025.

Through the arts at St. B’s on-site Galerie Buhler Gallery (GBG), you helped turn distress into peace, pain into comfort, and anxiety into compassion—supporting the well‑being and healing journeys of thousands of patients, visitors, and staff at St. Boniface Hospital. The 2025 activities included: the Kitchen Dance project, the Patient Art Menu, healing choirs and popular exhibitions (Cordially Yours, Heliophile, Tending the Wild).

Your impact was felt in various ways as noted by hannah, the Gallery’s curator: “Support from St. Boniface Hospital donors is essential to everything we do.”That support is echoed in the Gallery notebook kept by volunteers, where a patient undergoing cancer treatment shared: “I come to the Buhler Gallery every time I have chemo treatments. It’s my zen place.”

And from the caregiver perspective, a nurse said they visited the Gallery during their breaks, “far from the beeping of IV pumps and the noise of the cafeteria—simply, for the peace it offers.”

Yes, the Gallery’s permanent collection of Manitoba art has been displayed throughout the Hospital since it opened in 2007, creating an environment where art and beauty meet healing and comfort. But in 2025, your kindness reached thousands of people innovatively and empowered St. Boniface Hospital staff towards excellence in patient care.

One of the most creative initiatives you powered at the GBG were the Patient Art Menu and the Kitchen Dance.

Kitchen Dance — Celebrating the unseen workers of the Hospital’s kitchen

One of Manitoba’s most moving artistic moments was the Kitchen Dance, performed live in St. Boniface Hospital’s Kitchen by staff under the direction of local choreographer and dancer Alexandra Elliott, invited by GBG Curator, hannah_g. The performances took place on November 11 and 12, and were later turned into a film, which premiered on November 28. The film then played on a loop in the Gallery and on Hospital waiting‑room TVs until January 21.

The choice of the Kitchen was intentional. As explained by hannah in the project’s essay A working kitchen is full of the rhythms generated by food preparation. The staff’s work is characterized by gestures repeated on each shift. Bodies moving through space and time: this is the basis of choreography, of dance.

From this inspiration, the Kitchen dance shined a light on the often‑unseen staff of St. Boniface Hospital and highlighted the deep connection between nutrition, health, and well‑being.

But your generosity didn’t stop there—it continued by bringing art directly to patients’ bedsides, where comfort matters most.

The Patient Art Menu — bringing art directly into patient rooms

Because patient‑centred care is at the heart of GBG’s mission, your kindness made it possible to acquire new artworks by Manitoba artists for placement in Hospital rooms. Much of the Gallery’s collection consists of large pieces. However, smaller works in the collection were brought directly into patient rooms—offering comfort where it is needed most. While having to be in the Hospital is not always enjoyable, such initiatives help reduce the level of stress associated with being a patient.

hannah told a story that shows how art can contribute to patients’ well-being.

“I was installing David Heinrichs and Jennine Krauchi’s exhibition and was ahead of schedule. I had installed a small painting in a cardiology patient’s room the week before and knew he was interested in the show but was too unwell to come down to see it. So, I took one of David’s octopus bags and one of Jennine’s wall pockets and packed them carefully in a box, then walked up to the patient’s room and, putting on my white cotton curatorial gloves, showed him the pieces of beadwork. We talked about the use of the objects, some of the other pieces in the show, and what the artists are like. It was a nice moment where the gallery came into his room for a few minutes.”

But, your impact reaches far beyond the walls of any one room; it also found its voice in a project where healing came through song.

Tending the Wild, an exhibition curated by hannah_g

Your generosity enabled by GBG’s hannah_g to commission composer Ashley Au on February 28, for a special choral project titled Figure of Eight. Au was granted rare access to the Cardiac Unit, where she observed procedures and spoke with staff. The performance drew approximately 200 people. It was sung by SonoLux Choir, staff, and volunteers from St. Boniface Hospital.

This project celebrated the work of the Cardiac Unit while raising awareness about heart health.

hannah declared that the performance “wasn’t only a way of celebrating the staff and the work that’s done at St. B, but because of that we could get messaging out about heart health, which was really important.” Singing, listening to a choir as well as attending exhibitions —are known for the benefits of offering emotional relief.

Exhibitions that heal and bring comfort

Every exhibition you made possible in 2025 carried deep meaning and made a profound difference.

Cardially, yours — a photographic tribute to staff by Charles Romero Venzon

Local photographer and artist Charles Romero Venzon was commissioned to document the tremendous work of staff, and daily life in the Cardiac Sciences Unit. During the project, he revealed that his father’s life had been saved by the same unit in 1995. Thirty years later, from January to March, his exhibition Cordially Yours honoured the people who continue that lifesaving work. Their everyday work was showcased through artworks that reflected the cultural diversity and contributions of those who make St. B what it is.

Heliophile by Anna Binta Diallo

Gaboury passed away at St. B in 2022. In 2025, Diallo explored the emotional power of light, reverence, and joyfulness in the same space. Heliophile, presented from June to August, featured the work of Anna Binta Diallo. The exhibition held a special connection to St. B. Diallo is the granddaughter of revered architect Étienne Gaboury, who helped redevelop the Hospital’s Everett Atrium.

Tending the Wild, an exhibition curated by hannah_g

From September to November, GBG presented Tending the Wild, curated by hannah. The exhibition brought together artists whose works reflect on nature, healing, pleasure, history, politics, and the imaginative possibilities that grow when we tend to the wild within and around us.

Community and compassion around St. B’s Gallery Buhler Gallery

Across every moment in 2025, your generosity remained the quiet force turning art into comfort, compassion, connection, and healing. Visitors’ notes and testimonies all pointed to one truth: St. B is what it is because of you — our donor community who are making this possible.

When reflecting on what made 2025 possible, hannah also highlighted the tremendous work of Hospital volunteers at GBG who helped amplify your generosity every day.

Besides, local artists are also given the chance to showcase their work. hannah explained how support from St. Boniface Hospital Foundation donors is essential—not only for patients and staff, but also for Manitoba’s broader art community. Likewise, the Gallery is the go-to place nurturing the well-being of caregivers.

Across all these moments runs a single thread: when we come together as a community — amazing things happen.