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May 29, 2007

"The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning." --Ivy Baker

A Clinic That Gives Prescriptions ... for Action

If you’ve ever experienced acute concern over environmental issues, specialist Dr. Natalie Jeremijenko, of NYU’s Environmental Health Clinic, might be able to help. To be clear, Jeremijenko, 40, has a Ph.D., not an M.D. And the project is part of NYU’s Art Department, not the School of Public Health. Her credentials as an artist and environ-mental activist, however, are solid. Ever since 1994, Jeremijenko has been producing work that harnesses technology to make people’s interactions with the natural world more, well, interactive. When visitors come to the clinic with an environmental health concern—like children’s exposure to lead—the clinic’s specialists don’t simply trot out advice about limiting exposure to paint, “What differs,” says Jeremijenko, “is that you walk out with a prescription not for pharmaceuticals, but for actions and … referrals to interesting art, design, and participatory projects.”