Artful Healing
Imagine an ill child arriving at a hospital with his parents, fearful and tense, entering a harshly lit word filled with hard surfaces, strange equipment and clusters of other families equally under stress. Now picture how differently that child and his family would feel if the first thing they encountered upon entering the hospital was a gigantic aquarium filled with brightly colored tropical fish swooping and swimming around a tunnel that even a child in a wheel chair could navigate through. Or imagine if the siblings and friends of a sick child could punctuate their visit to the hospital with a round of mini-golf where each hole would feature a sculpture created by a different contemporary artist. These ideas and many more will become a reality when the 260,000 square foot Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center opens in Valhalla in June 2004.
"Studies have proven that creative elements such as nature, animals, aquariums, art, a stage, a train, dollhouses, and color, all create a total environment that actually improves the healing process better than a sterile healthcare hospital environment." says Bruce Komiske, executive director of the Children's Hospital Foundation. That is why from the beginning the campaign to build the Maria Fareri facility included plans for a permanent art collection, the commissioning of international artists to design site specific installations, the creation of an art studio and a performance gazebo, and many other elements that aim to distract and delight the over 4,500 children and their parents that the hospital anticipates serving each year.
The Children's Hospital serves the Hudson Valley, lower Connecticut and northern New Jersey region. With its close proximity to New York City this is a vast community whose population includes some of the world's most accomplished art experts and collectors. Sue Lawler, a former New York art dealer whose granddaughter had been treated at Westchester Medical Center, is one such individual. In a New York Times article that appeared in August 2002 Mrs. Lawler is quoted as saying "I told Bruce (Komiske) that the hospital should have quality art and not mall art. You could create a theme park environment and children would adore it, but there are so many theme parks and they eventually get tired. But good quality art is timeless." Mrs. Lawler became a founding patron of the art program at the Maria Fareri facility and she has helped to lead this ambitious, multifaceted program that has been funded in part by individuals and foundations that have made a lifetime commitment to the arts.
In the same New York Times article Marty Eisenberg explains what motivated him to support the hospital's art program: "It's hard to rationalize why anyone would want to put art in a hospital, But I think that art can enhance a community and eventually it will be embraced. This also gives us a chance to create something brand new." That point of view led Marty and Rebecca Eisenberg, and the foundation founded by his father, the Mitzi and Warren Eisenburg Family Foundation, to provide the $500,000 necessary to realize the aquarium project designed by Vito Acconci. The aquarium will be more than just a showpiece. Thanks to funding from the Edward S. Moore Foundation the hospital is partnering with the Norwalk Aquarium to offer classes that will use the Acconci aquarium as the focal point of a series of mini-courses to teach children about aquatic life and the environment.
Funding for the purchase of a fantastic, ornate golden sculpture in the form of a bridge that is bedecked with shimmering hand-blown glass ornaments has been arranged by the Feinstein Family Foundation. This dramatic piece, entitled "Satinstein," will be installed as a centerpiece to the Fujifilm funded Performance Gazebo, which, among other things, will be used for puppet shows. The Feinstein Foundation also funded the purchase of "Your Dog" by Yoshitomo Nara. This larger than life white puppy dog with a bright pink nose stands on a pool of crystal blue water and will be the inaugural piece installed in the landscaped fantasy mini golf course adjacent to the hospital building.
The most striking aspect of the hospital's art program is that it goes beyond the high brow to incorporate a vast array of artistic expression sure to appeal to a broad audience. For example, Wendy Weinreb, whose son Scott was born with a heart condition that was successfully treated at the Westchester Medical Center, headed up a drive to have groups and individuals create shadow boxes, or mini, one room dollhouse dioramas. Each box was sold for $100 and then decorated by schools, Boy Scout troops, and miniature clubs from all over the country. The over 400 boxes are now in storage awaiting installation in a specially designed streetscape that will reside between the lobby of the hospital and the elevator banks where they are sure to be seen by anyone visiting the hospital. The streetscape is composed of scale model buildings - an office building, brownstone houses and the like, in which each building's "windows" will be home to a shadow box.
In another public corridor the hospital will install a collection of over 300 dolls from all over the world that are being donated by Mrs. Judy Rosenberg. After a lifetime of assembling this remarkable collection Mrs. Rosenberg was looking for a place to donate her dolls where they would be cared for and appreciated. Children from all over the world come to the Medical Center, each of whom will have a chance to view this collection, perhaps spotting a miniature version of someone just like themselves among the dolls faces.
This is just a sampling of the efforts that are going into making the Maria Fareri Children's Hospital exceptional. Some others include the creation of a Children's Art Studio made possible by funds from the Dedalus Foundation, which was created from the estate of artist Robert Motherwell. As Jan Mittan, Director of Development explains, "The Studio will serve as a special environment where patients can totally immerse themselves in the creative process. We believe that the studio will serve as a source of inspirations for patients and their siblings dealing with intense emotions." Prints created by Motherwell will be exhibited and the hospital is also raising funds to purchase a wish list of prints, ranging in price from $500 to $3,000 that will be exhibited in patients' rooms. Rob Pruitt's serigraphic prints of twin panda bears "Alone (Facing East)" and "Alone (Facing West)" have already been donated by the New Museum.
When not in their rooms, patients will be able to visit a number of themed recreation spaces. For teenagers there is an art lounge filled with games donated by Microsoft, all of which light up and spring to life with the swipe of a smart card. There are six 'neighborhoods' in the hospital, each with its own theme, including a "Hall of Heroes" lounge that features a model of a fire engine cab wide enough to accommodate a child in a wheelchair. Catherine Tegtmeir a nurse who worked on the Medical Center's helicopter, made a financial contribution to the hospital in memory of her husband, a firefighter who lost his life on September 11th. Friends and colleagues arranged for the cab to be an additional gift in memory of Ms. Tegtmeir's husband. Another playroom is one with a nautical theme that was created by the world-class yacht design company Olin Stevens; and the hospital was given a refurbished 1957 Metro North diesel locomotive that will be incorporated into the hospital's food court.
The hospital has been fortunate to achieve many of the goals it set for itself when planning began for the Maria Fareri Children's Hospital. The ones described here are a sampling of what has been accomplished and yet there is still much the hospital would like to do. There is more art to be purchased, commissions for the golf course that need funding to be realized, and a healing perennial garden to be planted. The hospital continues to appeal to individuals and foundations for donations. Patron Sue Lawler put it best in a letter she wrote encouraging people to donate. "The art program that we are developing will enable the children at the hospital to open the doors of their imagination and creative needs. It provides a less institutional environment in which to heal." For information contact the Children's Hospital Foundation at 914-493 2575.
-Mimi Shanley Taft
Fairfield County Times
January 2004