Michael Smith PhotoArt Blog

 Foundation For Photo/Art In Hospitals

Elaine Poggi founded The Foundation For Photo/Art in Hospitals in 2002 after the loss of her mother and experiencing too many stark and lonely hospital settings.  She made it her goal to help make hospital environments more inviting, warm and comfortable. Elaine embarked on a "worldwide campaign to bring photos of nature to hospitals" in order to provide "color, comfort, and hope to patients, caregivers and loved ones."  Her Foundation accomplishes this from artwork donated from photographers, and monetary donations to help defray printing and shipping costs so hospitals' costs are minimal or zero.  The Foundation has found homes for over ten thousand photos from hundreds of photographers in more than 600 healthcare facilities on 7 continents around the world.  I encourage you to visit the Foundation's website (https://healingphotoart.org/) to learn more about its mission.  

I first learned about the Foundation for Photo/Art in Hospitals from a good friend and fellow photographer in late 2023.  It was a quick and easy decision for me to participate.  Donating photographers are ask to contribute just one photo, when can then be switched out every year or so thereafter to keep the Foundation's website fresh.  This is the photo I contributed:

It wasn't long before Elaine advised me that it had been placed in the Careggi Hospital in Florence, Italy.  

In a recent communication with Elaine, she advised me that photo has now been placed in 14 healthcare facilities in 4 countries on 3 continents.  

My most recent experience was a project with Elaine to place 15 photos in a facility in my hometown, St. Louis.  This project began early last year, and culminated in January this year with 15 photos placed in 2 facilities, the patient areas of the WashU Medicine Department of Orthopedic Surgery at BJC West, and examination rooms in the Washington University Orthopedics’ Center for Advanced Medicine.  This grid shows the photo placed, along with some shots of the placements.

This was a very rewarding experience in several ways.  First and foremost, it furthered my participation as a contributing photographer to help the Foundation achieve its goals.  It also expanded my role beyond contributing and uploading just one photo to the Foundation’s site.  It personalized my experience, working directly with the facility’s staff from beginning to end, and placing my artwork in local facilities of a healthcare provider from which I also receive care.  

The purpose of this blog post is not to brag about my placements, but to show how impactful contributing just one photo or coordinating one project can be, and encourage my fellow photographers to consider becoming a contributing photographer too.  I'm so happy to know that my photography can bring joy and peacefulness to patients and caregivers in hospitals. Elaine has been wonderful to work with and a special thanks to her for making this happen!