"Rainbow Island on the Clouds (雲端上的彩虹島),” an exhibition featuring the collection of Art Bank Taiwan and new artworks co-created by young patients and artists, ran at the National Taiwan University Children Hospital from July 19 through Oct. 14.
The exhibition was part of the Magic Art Island project, which was initiated by Art Bank Taiwan to collaborate with the local healthcare system in creating a therapeutic environment for patients, doctors, and visitors through art.
Consisting of three floors, the exhibition showcased brightly colored works that illustrate nature, life, and childhood memories by artists Lin Chun-ju (林純如) and Zheng Li-yuan (曾麟媛). A native species-inspired series by Hsu Tang-wei (許唐瑋) was also shown at level B1.
Works by artists Taifong Lin (林慶芳), Lin Hui-heng (林慧姮), Hsu Tang-wei, and Chiu Young-jin (邱雍晉) were showcased on the third floor, transforming the hospital exhibition space into a fantasy world based on the imaginative world of child artists.
The first floor displayed children's works made in workshops held by Art Bank Taiwan in the hospital.
In the three workshops held alongside the exhibition, hospitalized children had the opportunity to create their own kaleidoscopes, picture frames, and snow globes.
Director Hsiao Tsung-huang (蕭宗煌) of the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts noted that by bringing artworks into hospitals, child patients will have better access to art, a cultural right upheld by Culture Minister Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君).
NTU Children Hospital Director Wu Mei-hwan (吳美環) added that such art exhibitions can help inspire children who are under long-term hospitalization.
Such exhibitions will also help take their minds away from the hospital environment and improve the quality of the nation’s health care.