Art Prolongs Life – Prescriptions from the HUS Art Collection

The hospitals of the HUS Helsinki University Hospital are filled with visual art. Paintings, sculptures, and graphic works are spread throughout entrance halls, waiting rooms, department corridors, and patient rooms.

The extensive HUS art collection will be showcased at Kunsthalle Helsinki towards the end of the year. Reflecting the nature of the collection, the exhibition will focus on works by artists living in Finland and the Baltic Sea region. The exhibition includes works from both young creators and established artists.

Artists featured include Juhana Blomstedt, Kari Cavén, Outi Heiskanen, Pentti Kaskipuro, Kaisu Koivisto, Essi Kuokkanen, Leonhard Lapin, Tiitus Petäjäniemi, Pentti Sammallahti, Mari Sunna, Suvi Sysi, Marjatta Tapiola, Anna Tuori, Miina Äkkijyrkkä and Viggo Wallensköld. The curator of the exhibition is art historian Markku Valkonen.

Art Prolongs Life is more than a diverse art exhibition; it is a statement on the significance of art in conditions where a person’s health requires care and attention.

There is good reason for including art in hospital premises: encountering art promotes well-being. Considerable and convincing scientific evidence supports its positive impact on health and wellness. In hospitals, art can also encourage one to see the diversity of life and the existence of different emotions; the works remind us that no one is alone, and that others have experienced similar feelings and events.

Despite the extensive selection showcased at Kunsthalle Helsinki, plenty of works from the HUS collection remains on the walls of hospitals; the art collection comprises over 5,700 pieces. The collection is maintained and expanded by the HUS Art Committee, established in 2013.