Patients and Artists Together... Busan Cultural Foundation Launches 'Hospital Art' Program

The Busan Cultural Foundation has signed a business agreement with Daum Hospital and Good Busan Nursing Hospital to officially launch 'Hospital Art,' a project where patients and artists collaborate.

Hospital Art program scene.

Through this agreement, the three institutions will establish mutual cooperation to expand cultural enjoyment opportunities for patients who face restrictions in cultural activities due to long-term treatment or mental health issues. They aim to pilot the realization of the social value of arts and culture to help patients return to healthy daily lives.

In particular, this year marks the first attempt by the Busan Cultural Foundation to implement 'Hospital Art.' The project will be carried out in collaboration with the day hospitals operated by Eunsung Medical Foundation Good Busan Nursing Hospital, a cancer rehabilitation hospital located in Sasang-gu, and Daum Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in Geumjeong-gu.

Hospital Art is an arts project that began in hospitals worldwide in 1975. In 1984, 'The Foundation for Hospital Art' was established in the United States with the mission of bringing peace and love through art. Today, more than one million volunteers are active in over 6,000 hospitals and nursing homes across 195 countries.

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, various outstanding organizations have gained attention, especially in the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom, through music, theater, workshops, and exhibition programs.

A day hospital is a facility that provides psychosocial rehabilitation services during the day for individuals who have difficulties in daily or social life due to mental illness. Patients attend the hospital during the day to participate in rehabilitation programs and return home in the evening to be with their families. It serves as an intermediate form between inpatient and outpatient care, helping to manage psychiatric symptoms and improve daily and social functioning.

The Busan Cultural Foundation's Hospital Art is not a pathological approach that combines art and therapy, but is based on the voluntary participation of artists and patients, aiming for psychological healing and recovery. By distinguishing between artistic and therapeutic activities, patients can learn ways to cope with psychological crises in daily life through art activities outside the scope of treatment and experience the effects firsthand.

Together with local artists, patients experience creative activities in various fields such as dance, music, and arts and crafts, which helps enhance social connections and self-esteem, ultimately focusing on regaining a sense of leisure in daily life.

The foundation's arts healing project, which began in 2020, aims to identify socially vulnerable groups in the region and help them return to healthy daily lives through art. In addition, the Busan Cultural Foundation's Community Culture Foundation practices the social value of arts and culture based on participatory arts activities for various socially vulnerable groups, such as those at risk of isolation or lonely death and hospitalized patients, in cooperation with local artists and related organizations.

Lee Miyeon, CEO of the Busan Cultural Foundation, said, "I hope that through artistic activities in hospitals, patients and their caregivers can overcome the difficulties of treatment and recover both physically and mentally to return to their daily lives. We will continue to expand cooperation with both institutions to broaden cultural opportunities for patients limited by health issues and to realize the social value of arts and culture."