Art Engages More than Just Minds in Health Sciences
No surprise you can find lots of art at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. It is, after all, home for the Art in Medicine program.
Nearly 10 years old, Art in Medicine uses artwork to help medical students improve their skills in everything from observation to critical thinking and even communication. The brainchild of Cynthia Standley, PhD, the program continues to grow and has blossomed from exhibiting curated local artists’ work at the Phoenix Bioscience Core to pairing artists with researchers to create art designed to make science accessible and understandable to the general public. The second installment of Artist + Researcher, which is based on a similar program at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, is on display in the Health Science Education Building (HSEB) lobby through early January.
Standley, also a professor in the Department of Bioethics and Medical Humanism, said more than 260 people attended the public reception for Artist + Researcher Year 2, which includes embroidery and jewelry. Standley said some pieces from the first Artist + Researcher project are still on display. They can be found a few blocks north of the HSEB at the Wexford Science + Technology building, better known as 850 PBC.
The goal is to expand exhibit space and to ensure art is on each of the six floors of the HSEB, Standley said.
In addition to the Artist + Researcher exhibit, the second floor displays photos from Journey to the Center of Hope, a Kingman, Arizona-based nonprofit group that aims to help veterans cope with PTSD by pairing them with photographers. The exhibit will be up through November.
Head up to the sixth floor and until the end of the year, you can see the COVID Memorial Quilt, which features squares honoring those who died of COVID-19. The Gratitude Exhibit, in the anatomy corridor, features student artwork created in honor of willed body donors. To view that display, make sure to check in with security.
This story originally appeared in U of A Health Sciences Connect as part of their feature detailing the Health Sciences Campus Art Walk.
About the College
Founded in 2007, the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix inspires and trains exemplary physicians, scientists and leaders to advance its core missions in education, research, clinical care and service to communities across Arizona. The college’s strength lies in our collaborations and partnerships with clinical affiliates, community organizations and industry sponsors. With our primary affiliate, Banner Health, we are recognized as the premier academic medical center in Phoenix. As an anchor institution of the Phoenix Bioscience Core, the college is home to signature research programs in neurosciences, cardiopulmonary diseases, immunology, informatics and metabolism. These focus areas uniquely position us to drive biomedical research and bolster economic development in the region.
As an urban institution with strong roots in rural and tribal health, the college has graduated more than 1,000 physicians and matriculates 130 students each year. Greater than 60% of matriculating students are from Arizona and many continue training at our GME sponsored residency programs, ultimately pursuing local academic and community-based opportunities. While our traditional four-year program continues to thrive, we will launch our recently approved accelerated three-year medical student curriculum with exclusive focus on primary care. This program is designed to further enhance workforce retention needs across Arizona.
The college has embarked on our strategic plan for 2025 to 2030. Learn more.