Project Art is committed to providing an environment that promotes healing, shaped by a robust offering of art exhibitions and performances. Art enriches and revitalizes the lives of our patients and visitors, reducing the stress and anxiety often associated with healthcare settings.
About Project Art
Our mission is to create aesthetic, contemplative, entertaining, and visual thinking experiences that offer meaningful distractions to encourage conversations and exploration while visiting the hospital.
While art is featured in most hospitals today, the movement to create a hospital art collection began at the University of Iowa. Project Art started with the vision of then-hospital CEO John W. Colloton when he asked Joyce Summerwill to explore the idea of transforming the hospital’s hallways by utilizing art to expand the healing mission and to humanize the hospital experience. In 1976, under the supervision of the Hospital Architect, the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics selected several prints for public areas. The positive response to the increased presence of visual arts led to the formal organization of an arts program. Under Joyce Summerwill's direction, Project Art opened its doors in 1978, including temporary art exhibitions and shortly after the performing arts. The National Endowment for the Arts recognized the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics as one of the best examples of a hospital art collection in the country. A grant was secured in 1984 and expanded Project Art's role to include consulting for other university teaching hospitals to create their own arts programs. Currently, Project Art’s collection has more than 6,000 original works of art; the diverse collection focuses on Iowa-connected artists, but regional, national, and international artists are also represented.
Artifact Donations
Thank you for your interest in supporting the mission and services of Project Art. At this time, the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics Medical Museum is not accepting artifact donations. If you are interested in donating artwork to the Permanent Collection at UIHC, please contact Project Art staff at [email protected]. In the communication, please include the following:
Name of the artist, title of the artwork
Medium, dimensions, and weight if significant (e.g. sculpture)
How it was acquired
Reference Images
Potential artifact donations will be reviewed by the Project Art Collections Committee.
Monetary Gifts
Monetary gifts are a valuable source of support that provide Project Art with the greatest flexibility to help fund new acquisitions, commissions, and develop experiential programs for our patients, families, and visitors.
If you wish to make a monetary donation or discuss planned giving options to support Project Art, please contact University of Iowa Center for Advancement for assistance. Planned gifts, through bequests, trusts, or other life-income gifts, can provide lasting support for Project Art while meeting your own long-term financial and philanthropic goals.
All gifts to Project Art through the UI Center for Advancement qualify as charitable contributions to an IRS Sec. 501(c)(3) public charity for federal income, estate, and gift tax purposes.
To make a gift or for more information please contact:
Alli Ingman
Director of Development
University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics
University of Iowa Center for Advancement
P.O. Box 4550
Iowa City, IA 52244-4550 [email protected] 1-319-335-3305 1-800-648-6973
UI Hospitals & Clinics and UI Stead Family Children's Hospital are committed to providing an environment that promotes healing in a variety of forms.  Project Art contributes to those goals by placing art throughout the facility.  Each work has been specifically chosen to inspire exploration and positive engagement within the hospital setting.  Project Art aims to help make the hospital a more inviting, colorful, and enjoyable place for our patients, families, and visitors.
