Art at Jan Yperman Hospital

Tension and uncertainty are often at the forefront in a hospital. It is particularly at these times that art can be a valuable source of distraction and calm. It invites patients, visitors and staff to stop, look and feel for a moment. Or the opposite: to drift away and dream, even if just for a moment.

Art represents care in its broadest and most human sense. It reaches beyond the physical and touches mental and emotional wellbeing too. Within this interplay, art creates an environment where people - not art - take center stage: a space with room for experience, solace, connection and hope.

One extraordinary example is the art project of artist Lisa Spillebeen, who worked with children from Twoape youth psychiatry. Starting from the idea of ‘layers’ they set out to explore: what’s beneath the surface, what remains when you peel the layers, and what do you really care about?

As does every subsidized building in Flanders, the Jan Yperman Hospital has a budget for art that gives the building an extra dimension and meaning. The guiding principle is clear: art must not be separate from its surroundings, but flow from them while adding a fresh, idiosyncratic perspective.

As such, there is a deliberate choice for integrated art instead of isolated purchases. These are pathways whereby artists engage in dialogue with the space, the function and the people who use it daily. From this, pieces evolve that are not only visually present, but also contextually embedded in the hospital.