Charleston Area Medical Center Cancer Center, Charleston, WV

Firm's role on the project: Bring community together and fulfill healing vision.
 

To bring the local West Virginia community together, and fulfill Charleston Area Medical Center's (CAMC) healing vision for their Cancer Center by bringing the outdoors into their environment. 

The first step of the process started by forming a diverse community based Healing Arts Selection Committee comprised of cancer survivors, local business leaders, art philanthropists, and caregivers. Next, the project team that included the CAMC Foundation, construction project management, an art consultant, an interior designer, and the Healing Arts Selection Committee identified specific locations for each art installation. The challenge was engaging the community and creating a clear message to artists about the hospital’s vision and needs.

The Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC) Healing Arts Program was the result of the community’s capital campaign project: “Power of Many”. Healthcare Art Consulting and CAMC built the program to create a healing journey from the lobby, through the hallways, and into the treatment areas.

Healthcare Art Consulting, along with the CAMC Health System, promoted a statewide “call to artists”. Blind submissions were reviewed to narrow the selection of artists. After artists were confirmed for contention, Healthcare Art Consulting worked with each artist to provide the program vision, interior finishes, and space specifications to inform their design ideas for commissioned artwork. All design ideas were presented to the Selection Committee for final selection of the winning design concepts. For six months, Healthcare Art Consulting coordinated with the artists, construction project management, and the Healing Arts Selection Committee to oversee fabrication and production of site-specific works of art created for the CAMC Cancer Center. From coordinating wall blocking, lighting, and framing, to installation hardware, the artists collaborated with the project team to finalize the final art installations.

Today, CAMC contains twelve commissioned works of art created by seven artists whose styles are diverse art mediums (glass, wood, oil painting, photography). Designed to enhance the environment of care and reflect the diversity of the communities which the 100,000 square foot CAMC Cancer Center serves, the art evokes messages of hope and healing for patients, visitors, and staff. Each piece has deeper meaning because each artist has a connection to West Virginia and cancer. In addition to the twelve commissioned works of art, over 200 photographs of healing nature images were installed in patient treatment areas and staff workspaces to contribute to the overall mission of the healing arts program. The end result is a healing environment that reflects the vision of the “Power of Many”.