CfP: Beyond Therapy: Situating art and design in healthcare contexts
Type: Call for Papers
Date: November 7, 2016
Location: United Kingdom
Subject Fields: Architecture
and Architectural History, Art, Art History & Visual Studies, Fine
Arts, Health and Health Care, Urban Design and Planning
CFP: “Beyond Therapy: Situating art and design in healthcare contexts”
Panel at Association of Art Historians (AAH) annual conference, 6th to 8th April 2017, Loughborough University
Deadline for Paper Proposals: 7 November 2016
Convenors:
Tamar Tembeck, McGill University, tamar[DOT]tembeck[AT]mcgill[DOT]ca
Mary Hunter, McGill University, mary[DOT]hunter2[AT]mcgill[DOT]ca
In
Europe and North America, greater attention is being paid to the built
environment in medical spaces. ‘Healthy design’ initiatives are
increasingly being integrated into hospital planning, in a vision that
is coherent with the WHO’s definition of health, according to which
‘mental and social well-being’ are considered in addition to ‘the
absence of disease or infirmity’. Government percentage-for-art schemes
and public art funding policies count amongst the initiatives that have
allowed for the integration of art in hospital architecture, the
commissioning of in situ works, and the establishment of artists’
residences in medical environments.
Existing studies on art and
design in healthcare contexts overwhelmingly focus on accumulating
evidence of their beneficial impacts on patients’ recovery and general
well-being. Since the birth of hospitals in the Middle Ages, however,
the integration of art has played a variety of other roles in medical
spaces, ranging from providing contemplative touchstones for patients,
staff, and visitors, to improving the institution’s overall image in the
public eye.
This panel invites historians of art, architecture
and design, as well as cultural practitioners, programmers and
policymakers, to reflect upon, critique and question the forms and
functions of contemporary and historical art and design practices in
healthcare environments (hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities,
etc.). We are particularly interested in investigating art and design
practices that are deployed outside of an explicitly therapeutic context
(eg, in art therapy). Submissions pertaining to live art practices in
healthcare spaces are also welcome.
Please email your paper
proposals to the session convenors. Provide a title and abstract for a
25-minute paper (max 250 words). Include your name, affiliation and
email. You should receive an acknowledgement of receipt of your
submission within two weeks.
Contact Info:
Tamar Tembeck, McGill University