Operation PaintFest brings comfort, hope to children
The imaginations of hospitalized children at MUSC Children’s Hospital soared June 6 during “Operation PaintFest:” Creating Brighter Children's Hospitals.
Maggie
Kratzer's not too young to put brush to canvas—or in this case, ceiling
tiles —as part of the Children's Hospital's participation with Operation
PaintFest. Maggie is joined by Emily Key and Dr. Lyndon Key, director of
the division of pediatric endocrinology.
Walls and ceilings, traditionally unadorned, will now bear the artistic signature of youngsters who are helping paint approximately seven canvases and 300 ceiling tiles—rich with a butterfly, tropical fish and exotic animal palette of colors. Sponsored by The Foundation for Hospital Art in partnership with Pfizer Pediatric Health, this national program is being offered to children’s hospitals throughout the country.
MUSC pediatric patients painted in the atrium, while child life specialists and volunteers brought the painting materials to the children's hospital rooms to encourage participation of patients confined to bed. At the same time, staff, students, and those passing by had the opportunity to participate outdoors on the campus horseshoe.
Children,
families, patients and staff used their own creativity to choose colors
and paint exotic animals, tropical fish, butterflies and other designs
outlined on canvases and ceiling tiles.
The artists worked on pre drawn and color-coded ceiling tiles and canvas outlines created by The Foundation for Hospital Art.
“At Medical University of South Carolina Children's Hospital, we applaud the value of art in the hospital setting and strive to create an atmosphere that complements the physical and emotional care we provide to the children we serve,” said Carol Dobos, director of Children’s Services. “‘Operation PaintFest’ gives us the opportunity to allow our young patients to play a vital role in creating an inspirational new backdrop that will bring comfort to them and, equally as important, to the children who will enter these doors in the months and years to come.
John Feight was inspired to create The Foundation for Hospital Art while volunteering at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, Ga., in 1975.
While working in the hospital, he noticed a woman who looked depressed and was staring at a blank wall.
Feight envisioned a more colorful environment for the hospital patients, and later he approached the hospital administrator with the request that he be allowed to paint certain areas in the hospital.
Twenty-six years and 20,000 paintings later, Feight and his crew have assisted more than 500 hospitals in 165 countries brighten their walls and ceilings.
Feight claims that although the artwork may seem merely cosmetic, its
effects —like aspirin, he says—are truly powerful. “Aspirin doesn’t cure
the world,”