Pilot | Arts in Health at UMCG
Arts in Health Netherlands has launched a year-long pilot at the University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG), in collaboration with UMCG and theatre company Peergroup. Five artists are working with the medical centre staff on participatory, care-focused art projects in different departments.
Each project in the five UMCG departments will be developed to support the wellbeing of healthcare staff, exploring the meaning of the UMCG’s core value of ‘See the person’ (Zie de mens).
Latest Updates
The Arts in Health Pilot at UMCG is now officially started, with five arts projects embedded in five departments of the medical centre.
Each week, the artists, programme makers, coordinator, and researchers meet in a learning community for intervisioning, and shared learning from their experiences. The implementation of each of the five projects will be evaluated at the end of the pilot.
The pilot consists of two phases
- Phase 1 (February – July 2025): Artists work within their assigned UMCG departments, collaborating with staff to develop a creative vision and projects.
- Phase 2 (Post-Summer 2025): The focus shifts to refining and presenting their work, culminating in a final public presentation in November 2025, where researchers will also share their conclusions about the pilot.
Artists & UMCG Departments
- Morgan Ton, multidisciplinary artist & filmmaker → Beatrix Children’s Hospital
- Anne Varekamp, spatial designer & visual artist → Communication & Marketing
- Emma Berentsen, performance-maker & dramaturg → Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery
- Eva Koopmans, relational artist & designer → Spiritual Care
- Wiesje Gunnink, artist & arts educator → Orthopedics
Project Team
The pilot is led by programme makers Kirsten Krans & Dirk Bruinsma, researcher and trainer Ferdinand Lewis and project coordinator & researcher Nina van den Berg.
Steering Committee
Strategic guidance & supervision are provided by the UMCG steering committee, chaired by Michiel Kahmann, with members:
Barbara van Leeuwen, Hanneke van der Wal-Huisman, Jaap Tulleken, Bertrand de Jong, Edwina Doting, Joke Fleer, and Mark Dessing.
Pilot Partners
UMCG, Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health, Peergroup, and Nationaal Programma Groningen.