Our Mission
Art4Health is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with the sole purpose of
improving patient wellbeing through education and charitable donations of
in-room artwork and patient comfort items.
Whether for a planned surgery, a chronic condition, or an unexpected injury, it’s likely that you - or someone you love - will experience an overnight hospital stay. What if we could make that experience more conducive to healing? Your sponsorship of Art4Health programs has the power to immediately impact the daily lives of patients, making their in-patient experience more comfortable and their health outcomes more promising.
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Art4Health was originally conceived as a cost effective, evidence based solution for adult patients. In an extraordinary display of generosity, Art4Health has received a priceless gift from internationally acclaimed illustrator and author Graeme Base. His masterpieces form the bedrock of Art4Health initiatives in pediatric medical facilities. Thanks to this exceptional donation, Art4Health will be exclusively serving over 200 children's hospitals throughout 2024-2025. While it's a substantial undertaking, we can achieve this goal with your invaluable support!
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"The findings from this study indicate that art was a key environmental attribute which had a number of
functions in children’s hospital experience. These included: providing a rich source of aesthetic variation, entertainment, distraction, engagement and identity which supported young people’s capacity to maintain a positive frame of mind and remain positively engaged in their experience . . . providing a rich source of color; and finally assisting the environment in “not looking like a hospital” which became increasingly important to children and young people with time." - Kate Bishop. "The Role of Art in Pediatric Healthcare Environments: Children's and Young People's Perspectives." Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 38, 2012, pp. 81-88.
Eileen Cardillo | Neuroscientist
I am a cognitive neuroscientist and currently serve as the associate director of the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics at the University of Pennsylvania. We are a multidisciplinary research group that investigates the cognitive and neural basis of aesthetic experiences, including engagement with art. Among the questions that preoccupy us are: Is art good for us? In what ways? How? Under what conditions? For whom? It is important to recognize that this line of research is still in its infancy. Public enthusiasm for the arts is high, but funding lags well behind other basic and applied research priorities. Many questions await testing and the kind of rigorous experimentation typical of other clinical interventions. I find the evidence so far to be promising. My commitment to supporting the noble mission of Art4Health is also personal. In 2019, I lost my father and husband to cancer, spending countless hours that year in hospital spaces and rooms. Both received the gold standard in medical care and I am deeply grateful for the exceptional expertise, warmth, and dedication of their care teams. Still, the spaces we occupied varied greatly in their aesthetics, and I cannot shake the intuition that this mattered. To how we felt, how we thought, and how we navigated the difficult intervals between each series of tests, results, guidance, and treatments. My personal perspective aligns with my scientific lens: that bringing art into hospital rooms has the potential to benefit caregivers and patients, a subtle but valuable complement to the critical care provided by hospital staff. It is my sincere hope that a partnership with Art4Health persuades you of the same.
Katy Murtaugh | Pediatric Nurse
In my time as a critical care pediatric nurse, and as a nurse leader at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, I have seen children at all stages of acute and chronic illness. Hospitalizations for any reason are a stress on the family unit, on the parents and on the child. Children and families spend most of their hospitalization in their patient-specific room. That room becomes their home-away-from-home, although it rarely feels homey despite our best efforts. Required medical devices, regulatory constraints, maintenance standards and budgets all pose challenges to implementing known strategies for creating a healing environment, like natural light and developmentally appropriate, engaging art. While some new building initiatives prioritize natural light, true art is treated as a luxury and reserved for public spaces. Art4Health’s mission to improve well-being through in-room artwork speaks not only to the nurse in me, but the mother in me as well. My children and I find a wealth of opportunity for diversion and distraction in intricate, detailed artistic representations, like Graeme Base’s artwork currently being featured by Art4Health. It’s as if the opportunities for I Spy, imaginary exploration, quiet wondering, and impromptu storytelling never end. Any pediatric nurse will tell you that diversion and distraction are the name of the game when it comes to creating a positive healthcare environment for kids. Efforts like in-room artwork and patient care kits acknowledge that families need more from us than just medical care. Being able to leverage scientific findings to reframe art as an extension of our medical care makes so much sense to me and so I eagerly support Art4Health and its mission.
Graeme Base | Author, Illustrator
Over many years of writing and illustrating for children I have found the best way to communicate meaningfully with young minds is not to talk down to them, using simple words and pictures, but to aim over their heads with ideas and imagery that entice them to reach a little higher than they might otherwise. There is power and durability in the 'slow reveal', where layers of meaning become evident gradually rather than everything being served up on a spoon, with the child drawn back to the page curious to know if there is more yet to be discovered. When Laura King explained the goals of Art4Health I saw a perfect match between the intent of my artwork and the needs of children who would benefit from being removed from their current surroundings by absorbing imagery that would entertain and challenge, not just momentarily, but in an ongoing way. The overwhelming majority of images I have created for my books involve natural forms: animals, forests, vast landscapes, limitless oceans . . . worlds away from the often closed-in environments in which hospitalised children often find themselves. The beneficial effects on the mind of a focus on nature are well-documented. Blending this with fun and imagination is a good recipe for assisting children deal with potentially stressful situations. I am very hopeful the goals of Art4Health can be realized and am eager to do what I can to help by providing access to my illustrative works for use in this hugely worthwhile endeavour.
Become a Partner in Health
for yourself • your loved ones • your community
GALLERY FINISHED ART PRINTS
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Transform sterile hospital rooms into more welcoming, kid-friendly environments with museum quality ChromaLuxe artworks by Graeme Base. (ChromaLuxe is a nonporous finishing solution that effectively withstands disinfectant sprays without damage and maintains vibrant colors and detail over several lifetimes of use.)
PATIENT COMFORT ITEMS
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Our approach to patient comfort items is to contribute modest environmental enhancements that soften and calm. Art4Health's cozy organic cotton fleece blankets, (OEKO-TEK ® Certified Standard 100) and pillowcases decorated with Mr. Base's artworks, infuse added warmth into hospital settings.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ART
HOSPITALS RECEIVE THROUGH ART4HEALTH DONATIONS
Finished Art Prints
We understand that children "should not be treated as “little adults” and that their responses to their surroundings differ. " (Eisen, S. L. (2006). The Healing Effects of Art in Pediatric Healthcare) There is a standard criterion in selecting art for pediatric settings that includes: 1) artwork that’s realistic but engaging, 2) appeals to different age groups, ranging from toddlers to teenagers, and 3) reflects themes of nature or animals.
After carefully assessing numerous illustrators, a singular artist emerged as exceptional: Graeme Base. Mr. Base's work resonates perfectly with Art4Health objectives. With a substantial portfolio of illustrations dating back to his first book published in 1983, Mr. Base has generously donated his collection to support the therapeutic potential of art in pediatric hospital settings and inspire the imagination of generations of young patients.
"Neuroaesthetics is the application of insights from the neuroscience of aesthetics to improve health outcomes through art-based interventions that promote well-being, enhance patient experience, and support therapeutic goals." Battro, A. M., et al. (2021). The neuroscience of art and aesthetics in health: Consensus on an emerging discipline. Health Psychology Review, 15(3), 481-495.
Studies Confirm: Patient Room Art Improves Patient Health Outcomes.
"Art contributes to creating an environment and atmosphere where patients can feel safe, socialize, maintain a connection to the world outside the hospital and support their identity. We conclude that the presence of visual art in hospitals contributes to health outcomes by improving patient satisfaction as an extended form of health care."
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF QUALITATIVE STUDIES ON HEALTH AND WELL-BEING, 201, VOL. 12, NO. 1, 126734
Fine art is good medicine. It comforts, elevates the spirit, and affirms life and hope. Art in the healthcare setting, combined with outstanding care and service, creates an ambience that encourages healing and supports the work of medical professionals. “We set out to try and change the paradigm of what it’s like to be in a healthcare setting - that in some way, it might be inviting and enriching when you come to the hospital for whatever reason, whether you’re working there, a visitor, or a patient.”
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Learn More About Cleveland Clinic's Arts & Medicine Programs
There is evidence in the field of neuroscience that art enhances brain function by impacting brain wave patterns, emotions, and the nervous system. Observing art can stimulate the creation of new neural pathways and ways of thinking. The results of a study by Semir Zeki, chair in neuroaesthetics at University College London, found that when people viewed art, blood flow increased by as much as 10% to the region of the brain associated with pleasure - the equivalent of looking at a loved one.
(INNER VISION: An EXPLORATION OF ART AND THE BRAIN. Oxford University Press.)