Shands Arts in Medicine

Welcome, Patients and Public

In 1990, a group of physicians and nurses from Shands Hospital and the University of Florida College of Medicine reached out to Gainesville community artists and began a collaboration that would have a lasting impact on patient care. The result of this partnership is a program called Shands Arts in Medicine

What began as an investigation of how art might help reduce the stress of hospitalization has grown into a philosophy of care for an entire institution – a philosophy that centers on the belief that art is an integral component to healing.

Shands Arts in Medicine has developed a comprehensive art program that includes:

Artists in residence working in the clinical setting using dance, music, drama, creative writing and the visual arts to enhance the patient experience.
Using the visual arts to transform the physical hospital setting through rotating exhibitions, permanent art installations, and interior design.
Partnerships with education and art institutions that expand the discipline of arts in healthcare, moving beyond the traditional patient care setting into the classroom and community – locally, nationally and internationally.