Interactive art encourages connection at National Conference

Licensed clinical therapist Becky Lenning often uses art to help those with medical trauma work through their emotions. One technique she employs is neurographic drawing. First, patients write down their health challenges and discuss them. Then, they use a marker to draw intersecting lines on a blank piece of paper. After they soften sharp edges, they fill in shapes with watercolors. Patients sometimes choose red to express anger, blue for sadness, green for envy, and black for despair.

“It’s quite interesting because it seems so abstract but when people process what comes out, they’ll say, ‘Oh my gosh, I noticed looking at my drawing the first part was really scribbly and chaotic and the other part of the drawing is more calm and it’s really representative of my journey,’” said Lenning, whose son has primary immunodeficiency (PI).

“Creating art is powerful. It’s a way to express nonverbal emotions, things that we can feel but can't always put words to. And through art, we're able to do that a little bit better.”

Recognizing that art is an important therapeutic tool and acknowledging that each person with PI contributes meaning to the whole of the community, the Immune Deficiency Foundation chose the theme of “Mosaic: Every piece adds strength,” for its upcoming 2026 National Conference set for June 25-27, 2026, in San Antonio, Texas.

At the conference, families and individuals can connect with others by expressing their lived experience through these interactive art installations:

• Community mural: Pick up a brush and contribute to a wall-sized paint-by-numbers mosaic—a collaborative masterpiece built one stroke at a time.
• Sonic installation: Hear life with PI in a whole new way. Community members have contributed words capturing what it means to live with primary immunodeficiency that we’ve woven together into an audio word cloud you can experience through headphones.
• Missed moments: A striking visual testament to the time PI has taken from the community. Add colored balls representing the days of school, work, or cherished events you've missed—and watch as individual losses come together into a powerful collective statement.
• Treatment collage: This illuminated watercolor mosaic brings the community to life through color, with each hue representing a different treatment modality, a vivid portrait of the many paths people take to stay healthy.
• Gallery: Peruse an art show displaying pieces by three members of the PI community: Myles Temple, diagnosed with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID); Susanna Raj, diagnosed with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD); and Ironmouse, diagnosed with common variable immune deficiency (CVID). Five large traveling canvases filled with the words and images of community members from events across the country in 2025 will also be on display.

Chief Communications Officer Tammy Black said the foundation strove to present a new approach for community members attending the conference this year, one that both encourages creativity and fosters connection.

“We really wanted to provide opportunities to interact and feel and discuss what it’s like living with a PI. This is a difficult journey and we’re hoping that as community members participate in the installations, they find healing,” said Black.

Lenning applauded this effort and said that art is a wonderful way for a person coping with chronic illness to find strength.

“Art can be very empowering when you are the creator of whatever it is you are creating. You have all that control, and I think that helps build resilience,” said Lenning.