Art Prize Winners to Help Create Art for the New Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital

Art Prize winners Tracy VanDuinen and Todd Osborne will be creating art for the lobby of the new Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. Using art produced by kids at art-making workshops held at LaFontsee Galleries, Van Duinen and Osborn will fashion a large wall mosaic composed of brightly colored tiles and mirrors arranged to depict joyful and inspirational scenes of childhood.

“We are excited to have these wonderful artists helping to guide the creation of art in the new building,” said Bob Connors, MD, president, Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. “Art in the lobby will make it a special place for children and set the stage for an entire experience of healing throughout the hospital.”

Scott and Linda LaFontsee are serving as the art consultants for the new Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. They are charged with selecting and creating original art developed by and with children to promote healing, instill wellness and communicate quality care at the children’s hospital.

Children and teens can still help make art for the new building. One session remains and is scheduled for June 12 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at LaFontsee Galleries. Visit Lafontsee.us for more information and to register.

The 14-floor, 444,000 square-foot, 206-bed children’s hospital will dramatically change the skyline on Michigan Street’s “Medical Mile” in Grand Rapids. Supported by nearly $103 million in generous community support, special features of the new hospital include:

A child-friendly atmosphere designed to make kids feel comfortable and safe in a hospital dedicated exclusively to children
A healing environment celebrating the region’s natural beauty of water, land, sky and sun
An outdoor garden accessible from the main lobby
Spacious, private inpatient rooms where parents may stay overnight
Room to play and entertainment to foster healing and hope
Quiet spaces and a chapel for all faiths
A dedicated emergency department, and operating and recovery rooms just for children

Learn more about the new hospital at devoschildrens.org/2011.

Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, a member of Spectrum Health, is a Grand Rapids-based hospital serving children throughout Michigan. A teaching hospital, it includes more than 150 pediatric physicians with training in providing medical and surgical care to children in more than 40 pediatric specialties. Visit devoschildrens.org to learn more.