Austin, Texas - (April 9, 2008) - Be on the lookout for the wonderful artistic talents of patients at Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas on an Austin street near you.
For more than six months, Dell Children's patients -- as well as patients at the Dialysis and Oncology Clinic at Strictly Pediatrics --have been working with local artist Ian Cion on a collaborative art project that is now "wrapped" on two 35-foot Capital Metro buses.
With the help and guidance of Cion, patients created drawings, paintings and sculptures. Ian photographed and digitized everyone's artwork. The end result is two beautiful and mobile works of art that will be seen all across Austin for the next year.
"By creating the Art Bus Project, I was able to do two good things for the kids I worked with at Dell Children's," said Ian Cion, Austin artist. "First, they knew they were working on something big that was going to be seen and enjoyed by the whole community, and second, they knew they were working on it together. The aspect of teamwork was significant because it helped lessen some of the isolation that can be felt in a hospital and made the project much more successful, both as a healing technique and as a work of art."
Today, more and more art is being utilized in children's hospitals, especially at Dell Children's.
"Art can be incredibly healing," said Chris Brown, director of Child Life and Family Centered Care at Dell Children's. "It helps reduce stress and anxiety and, for many patients, it facilitates effective strategies for coping with illness, traumatic injury and the hospital experience. This type of focus addresses the mind body spirit connection that can lead to improve clinical outcomes."
The bus art project was made possible by the generosity of Capital Metro, which donated the two buses for a year, and 3M, which provided the graphic materials and helped with preparations for the art project.
"Capital Metro is honored to be the canvas for such beautiful artistic expressions from patients at the Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas," said Fred Gilliam, president and CEO, Capital Metro. "We know this artwork will brighten the lives of our young children and inspire our community."
"The vibrant colors of the children's art shows the community the optimism and hope these young artists have in their hearts," added Russell Bridges, Government and Community Affairs manager, 3M.
This collaboration could not have been made possible without the inspiration and devoted time of Cion as well as the support of the Art Alliance Austin (formerly the Austin Fine Arts Alliance), which helped bring this project to life.
"As an organization dedicated to inspiring our citizens, catalyzing artists to create and hastening citywide collaboration, we are proud to support Ian's innovative vision and the collective efforts of this community collaboration," said Meredith Powell, Executive Director, Art Alliance Austin.
The Cap Metro buses will be on display April 12-13 at Art City Austin '08 art fair in downtown Austin. The buses will then begin routes all across the city.