Premier Arts Collective champions the belief that art serves as an instrument for healing.
This idea stands at the center of the experiential nonprofit organization’s new partnership with the Prisma Health Roger C. Peace Rehabilitation Hospital in Greenville. The hospital provides inpatient and outpatient care for those with spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke, amputation, multiple trauma, cancer and other neurological conditions.
Premier Arts Collective began hosting bi-monthly therapeutic art workshops at the hospital in March. Elizabeth DuBose, administrator of Roger C. Peace, explained that the workshops offer patients, caregivers and staff an opportunity to connect, reflect and engage in recovery beyond traditional therapies.
“At Roger C. Peace, rehabilitation is more than physical recovery – it’s about supporting the whole person,” DuBose said. “Partnering with Premier Arts Collective allows us to integrate creativity and self-expression into the healing process in a meaningful way.”
The new therapeutic art workshops were inspired by Brad Carraway, a therapeutic art facilitator with Premier Arts Collective, and his daughter, Katarina. In 2021, Katarina Carraway became a patient at Roger C. Peace after being involved in a traumatic accident that left her paralyzed from the chest down.
She became involved in an outpatient support group program with the hospital for people with spinal injuries. Brad Carraway started offering therapeutic art-themed events for his daughter’s support group and expanded to working with other outpatients at Roger C. Peace. He later connected the hospital with Premier Arts Collective to create an inpatient therapeutic art program.
“I’m very excited about this opportunity,” Katarina Carraway said. “I love to encourage others to explore their creativity in ways that feel accessible and empowering, while also advocating for more inclusion and accessibility.”
Therapeutic art workshops
Alison Hughey, a board-certified music therapist, led the most recent workshop at Roger C. Peace on May 29. During the workshop, patients sang along to classic songs like Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” to Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” The workshop also allowed patients to work on their physical therapy goals while playing instruments.
One of the patients who participated in the music therapy workshop was Ken Hurt. Hurt has been undergoing rehabilitation at Roger C. Peace since early May after suffering a stroke. He enjoyed the camaraderie formed during the workshop with the other patients.
“I wouldn’t typically sit in a room like that, but I would go out to a bar and do the exact same thing that we did,” Hurt said. “It helps remind you that this is semi-normal. It’s an odd location but a normal experience – interacting with people, singing some songs, laughing a little bit and telling some stories. That’s good – anything that can lift your spirits.”
Premier Arts Collective provides therapeutic art and music programs across Upstate South Carolina and beyond. Logan Rice, the organization’s vice president, said the patients at Roger C. Peace are one of the many populations that the Premier Arts Collective serves, from survivors of sexual assault to underserved children and youth.
“The arts are so versatile, and in environments like this at Roger C. Peace, there are just so many ways they can be beneficial to this population,” Rice said. “We’re looking to do five programs at the hospital over the course of 2026 and then – Lord willing – keep going in the years to come.”
