Toledo Museum of Art Event to Celebrate Haircut Art and ProMedica’s Commitment to Addressing Racial Health Disparities

ProMedica, together with the Toledo Museum of Art, present The Art of the Cut, an event that will examine the intersection of art and health while highlighting Toledo’s black barbers and their roles as artists and men’s health advocates.

On Feb. 17 from 3-7 p.m., The Toledo Museum of Art’s (TMA) GlasSalon at 2445 Monroe Street will be turned into a community barbershop with barbers demonstrating their artistic abilities. They will perform 16 haircuts in four rounds inspired by styles through the decades from the 1950s to 2000s, and they will participate in a final round inspired by works in the TMA collection.

These predominantly African American barbershops are among the participants in ProMedica’s Barbershop Health and Wellness Program, which provides barbers with education on prostate cancer and other screenings as well as health educational materials they can distribute to their clients.

In 2018, ProMedica’s Health and Wellness program expanded to address the significant health disparities of African American men as reported in the recent Lucas County Health Needs Assessments and the Ohio State Health Improvement Plan. These reports reveal health disparities in the African American male community with regard to heart disease, diabetes, prostate and colorectal cancer. Representatives will discuss these health disparities during the event.

“The barbershop program is about fostering trusting relationships between the community and healthcare providers while providing health screenings, health education, and resource information,” explained ProMedica Cancer Institute Community Liaison Robin Charney, who leads the program. “The response from the participating barbers has been phenomenal. They have the ear and the trust of the community and have allowed us to expand our health education and screening efforts.”

“Events like Art of the Cut celebrate those community connections,” Charney said. “Art presents us with an opportunity to bring the community closer, and every encounter we have with each other is an opportunity for wellness.”

The Art of the Cut is sponsored by Circle, a Museum affinity group whose diverse, civically, and culturally engaged members work with TMA and other community organizations to develop new, innovative ways of connecting the Toledo community with the Museum and art.

“The positive effect that art can have on health is often overlooked,” explained TMA Leadership Fellow Alyssa Greenberg. “The event positions art as something that is a positive social good; art is for everyone; art is even for people who think art is not for me. For the barbers, their effectiveness as community leaders and men's wellness advocates has everything to do with their capacity as artists.”

Les Levesque from Tal Mon, one of the Barbershop Program participants, is looking forward to participating in The Art of the Cut because of its potential to create connections.

“We live in a divided society, so this is an important opportunity to bring people together for a cause,” Levesque said. “Health and haircuts are two things that everyone needs so it was a natural fit to help educate my clients and the community about health screenings.”

Joining Levesque as co-hosts at the event are Jamal Grant (Da Shop), Tawann Gaston (Groomed), Stacey Fletcher (Fletcher's), Steve Parker (Steve's Sport-n-Cuts), and James Foster (James Foster).

About Toledo Museum of Art: Since its founding in 1901, the Toledo Museum of Art has earned a global reputation for the quality of our collection, our innovative and extensive education programs, and our architecturally significant campus. And thanks to the benevolence of its founders, as well as the continued support of its members, TMA remains a privately endowed, non-profit institution and opens its collection to the public, free of charge. For more information, please visit www.toledomuseum.org.

About ProMedica: ProMedica is a mission-based, not-for-profit integrated healthcare organization headquartered in Toledo, Ohio. It serves communities in 28 states. The organization offers acute and ambulatory care, an insurance company with a dental plan, and post-acute and academic business lines. The organization has more than 56,000 employees, 13 hospitals, 2,100+ physicians and advanced practice providers with privileges, 900+ healthcare providers employed by ProMedica Physicians, a health plan, and nearly 400 assisted living facilities, skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers, memory care communities, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and hospice and home health care agencies. Driven by its Mission to improve your health and well-being, ProMedica has been nationally recognized for its advocacy programs and efforts to address social determinants of health. For more information about ProMedica, please visit www.promedica.org/aboutus.