Art and Medicine: A Collaboration With Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q)

The Department of Painting and Printmaking concluded an Undergraduate Research Experience Program-awarded project in April 2016 with the exhibition ‘Art and Medicine’ which was held at HBKU Student Center from April 11 to May 14 2016.

The exhibition showcased a collection of works created by six students from each college, utilizing a range of materials, methods and media, from laser-cut works based on medical scans, to photographs that examined the landscape as a metaphor for neurological conditions, and kinetic sculptures that question our perception of what is mental and what is physical.

The objectives of the interdisciplinary collaboration between VCUQatar art and design students and WCM-Q medical students were to develop innovative, interdisciplinary pedagogies that provide art students with new understandings, materials and tools that will further develop their artistic practice, and will also allow medical students to rethink medical decision-making and patient care.

The research process has been documented through photography, videography and an ethnographic-based research methodology that culminated in the art exhibit and accompanying catalogue published in June 2016.