Art for Healing Spaces
For people in transition, and the places that hold them.
Who is this for?
For places that know that the surroundings and colors we surround ourselves with affect how we feel.
The work
How the work is created
1. We meet
I meet with you who work on site and listen to what lives here and needs space. Together we find the way to listen that suits you.
2. I am listening
I meet the people who live or have been to the place, through a creative gathering, conversation, silence, or another entrance we find together.
2. The work is created
From what I've heard, I draw the work layer by layer.
3. The work is hanging
It is handed over to the place, where it can meet the next ones who come.
Modum Bathroom,
2025-2026
Modum Bad wanted an artwork for a common area in the hospital. Together with cultural worker Jostein Frøyshov Danielsen, I developed a framework to listen to what was alive in the place, and invited the patients in.
27 patients participated. They drew, wrote and sat in silence around the question: What do you long to unfold when you are here?
What I was left with afterwards is what shapes the work — experiences of being there without performing, of being human first and foremost, not a patient. Those are the threads from which I weave the work.
The work — Coming Home — was delivered to Modum Bad on May 21, 2026.
From the collection at Modum Bad
"Regardless of belief or non-belief, a safe space was created in the church."
Joachim, participant in the gathering at the church
“I came to a space where I could just be. Be with others. I didn't have to be anything more than me, just the way I was right then.”
Eline, participant at the gathering in the church
Ahus, autumn 2026
In the fall of 2026, I was lucky enough to join the Happiness Team, started by Helle Evensen to create a warmer and more colorful children's department at Ahus.
On Monday, October 26th, we gathered 12 children at the hospital school in Ahus. Some had themselves been treated for cancer at Ahus, others were siblings. While the parents had their own plans, I, play therapist Lillian and teacher Camilla created a playful space where the children could express themselves based on the colors and textures they became curious about at the moment.
They walked around looking at pictures and things in the room, mixed paint, cut out pictures from old books and made their own art exhibition which the parents came to see afterwards. There were glasses of apple juice and lots of excited children.
From this collection I will create a piece of art for the children's department. A reminder to all of us to be present in the moment, and discover all the colors and life that is here.
Could this be for the place you manage or work at?
Describe the place — where you work, what kind of community you are in, and what kind of transition you are in. It helps me start the conversation where you are.
Send email to:
maria@mariastensvold.com