Public art and health

George Petrides’ healthcare programme comprises 10 projects: 7 installed and 3 in process — to be announced, as of October 2026. To ground this work in evidence, he founded Public Art & Health, a curated research repository on how people experience sculpture, murals, paintings and other installed visual art in healthcare, with a particular focus on permanent sculpture.

What the research shows

Experience of the hospital

Art can improve how people perceive the hospital environment and offer interest or distraction. A favourable impression is not the same as a clinical improvement.

Stress and anxiety

Several studies report improvements after viewing art, though results vary and setting, attention and movement may contribute.

Pain

Some small studies report favourable findings; others find no difference in pain.

Staff and visitors

Murals and collections are associated with some favourable responses, with real differences between sites and groups.

Permanent sculpture

Hospital records show varied artistic and spatial uses, but the reviewed evidence does not isolate a causal health effect of a sculpture on its own.

Two trials illustrate the balance: among 186 cancer inpatients, paintings improved perceptions of the room but produced no detected psychological or clinical differences; among 80 patients after cancer surgery, hospital gallery visits were linked to better hope, anxiety and mental wellbeing, with no significant difference in pain.

Public Art & Health is editorially curated rather than a systematic review, and declares the founder’s interest as a sculptor working in healthcare settings.