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Jordan Rathkopf: Can hospitals use art to challenge, not just comfort?

lenscratch.com

Mar 21, 2025, 18:00

Jordan Rathkopf: Can hospitals use art to challenge, not just comfort?

Jordan Rathkopf, Co-Founder of The Rathkopfs and Founder of Patient Caregiver Artist Coalition (PCAC), shared a post on LinkedIn:

“Can Hospitals Use Art to Challenge, Not Just Comfort?

Most hospital art is designed to be soothing – something in the background to provide some relief. Nothing wrong with that, we all need to feel some in the often dehumanizing hospital environment. But what happens when an exhibition inside a hospital comforts and challenges at the same time?

At Montefiore Health System, Maria Natalia Marin, an art curator and medical student from Romania has done just that. Along with Jodi Moise, she curated A(I) Brighter Tomorrow: Cancer and Beyond – an exhibition about raw, honest storytelling from people with lived experience.

We recently interviewed Natalia at Patient Caregiver Artist Coalition (PCAC) where we explored questions like:

Is art in healthcare meant to engage with illness – or just soften its presence?
How do we ensure fertility is part of early treatment conversations?
How do European and American approaches to art in healthcare differ?

For too long, patients and caregivers have been passive subjects in conversations about disease. This exhibition shifts that.

Natalia approaches curation as more than selecting artwork. She sees it as an act of care- one that creates space for the realities of illness while also challenging how we engage with it.

‘The term curation (n.) dates back to the late 14th century, from the Old French curacion, meaning ‘treatment of illness,’ which in turn came from the Latin curatio, meaning ‘care, attention, management.’

A(I) Brighter Tomorrow is an exhibition that both cares for its visitors and isn’t afraid to confront them with difficult medical truths.

This is what makes Natalia’s work so powerful. She isn’t curating to comfort – she’s curating to create change.

See the Exhibition Before It Closes