Visual Arts
To support an ever-expanding body of research endorsing the ability of art to enhance medicine, health and well-being, numerous forms of art are featured at UK Chandler Hospital and across the entirety of the University of Kentucky HealthCare enterprise.
- Whimsical folk art
- Glass, wood, fabric and ceramics
- Sculptures and paintings
- Local, state, regional and international commissioned works
- Artists with a Kentucky connection, many of whom have achieved national and international renown
- Virtually every medium and style is represented
Folk Art Collection
Locations for art were an integral part of the design process for the new pavilion at UK Chandler Hospital. As a result, the art and landscaping feel natural and part of the space.
Working with the Kentucky Folk Art Center in Morehead, Ky., UK has accumulated both two-dimensional and three-dimensional pieces from the most important artists in the history of Kentucky folk art. The Don & Cathy Jacobs Health Education Center is the showplace for UK HealthCare’s significant folk art collection. In addition to this location, works are placed throughout Chandler Hospital.
Souls Grown Deep Collection
The Souls Grown Deep Foundation’s roots can be traced to the mid-1980s when William Arnett began to collect in earnest the artwork of self-taught African American artists in the southeastern United States.
The foundation believes the so-called folk or outsider artists of the black American South were a coherent cultural movement and constituted a crucial chapter in world art.
The sweeping changes affecting southern black life in the late 20th century, especially those changes set in motion by the civil rights movement, radically energized the artists of the region and their long-suppressed voices.
The Celebrate Kentucky Wall
Photojournalism instructor Tim Broekema from Western Kentucky University translated an idea to display pictures from across Kentucky into a dynamic and ever-changing multimedia presentation that stops patients, visitors and staff in their tracks. The wall features video and still imagery from across all regions of the state. Seasonal changes in the imagery bring the beauty of our old Kentucky home into the interior of our hospital. The sight of familiar faces, places and scenery offer comfort and a beautiful, welcoming distraction. It is our most well-known, best loved, and easily recognizable work of art. Not only is it a visual representation of the people and places of Kentucky, it also symbolizes our dedication to serving the people of Kentucky.
The Permanent Collection
The UK Arts in HealthCare program was conceived prior to construction of the new pavilion at UK Chandler Hospital; as a result, the art is integrated with the architecture. Proceeds from the groundbreaking gala funded the pavilion's first public space commission – Gingko, a 32-foot sculpture created by Warren Seelig.
Philanthropy and University of Kentucky HealthCare's commitment to the healing power of the arts has fueled the development of a collection that now includes more than 2,100 original works of art. Virtually every medium and style is represented while being carefully selected to enhance the healing environment.
Art by consensus: Major commissions and public works are curated in partnership with advisory committees and the works on patient floors and other clinical spaces are selected with the help of our faculty and staff. Selections are carefully weighed against guiding principles developed by consulting best practices from the field of arts in health. With the opening of Pavilion A at UK Chandler Hospital in 2011, the presence of art in the hospital received an overwhelmingly positive response. In the years since the completion of Pavilion A, our program has worked tirelessly to expand our visual art collection and programming to nearly every facility across the UK HealthCare enterprise. We continue to experience an ever-growing demand for art from clinical locations across the enterprise that have not yet been impacted by our efforts.
To date, our permanent collection and visual arts programming is present at the following locations:
UK Chandler Hospital, UK Good Samaritan Hospital, Eastern State Hospital, UK Markey Cancer Center, Kentucky Clinic, Kentucky Clinic South, UK HealthCare at Turfland, Integrative Medicine and Health Clinic, UK Polk-Dalton Clinic and many more clinical outpatient facilities across the UK HealthCare enterprise.
Artists interested in proposing their work for inclusion in our permanent collection may contact Jason Akhtarekhavari at (859) 323-9896 or jason.star@uky.edu.
Publications
For more information on the art, pick up brochures at our information desks or in the literature rack located in the Barnstable Brown Atrium Lobby. You may also view our publications by clicking on the links below.