On Thursday, January 11, the special exhibition “PERHAPS: In search of stories” opened its doors in the outpatient clinic building of the VUmc location. The exhibition was organized in the context of the project In Search of Stories, which investigated how spiritual caregivers and artists can support patients within oncological care in their search for meaning and purpose, and rewriting their life story after diagnosis.
The exhibition included 18 co-creations, 19 works of art in total, all of which emerged from the fruitful collaboration between patients, spiritual counselors and artists. These co-creations offer insight into the personal stories and experiences of patients with cancer, and illustrate how spiritual care, art and research come together to improve existential supportive care for these patients.
Public present at the official opening of the exhibition. Photo: Franz Mueller Schmidt
Transdisciplinary collaboration
The exhibition PERHAPS is a production of the Department of Medical Oncology (Amsterdam UMC) and HKU University of the Arts Utrecht, in collaboration with the Art Affairs department of Amsterdam UMC. It shows the added value of a transdisciplinary collaboration between scientists, healthcare providers and artists in supporting people with cancer in their search for meaning after their diagnosis.
Photo: Franz Mueller Schmidt
PERHAPS the film
Click on the link below to watch a video explaining this special exhibition. The film features: prof.dr. Hanneke van Laarhoven (internist-oncologist and project leader In Search of Stories; Tjallien Walma van der Molen (artist and exhibition maker); Hugo Vlug (spiritual counselor) and Paul Piket (participant in the project In Search of stories).
Want to know more? Send an email to Niels van Poecke (Medical Oncology researcher): n.vanpoecke@amsterdamumc.nl or watch this video:
Life stories of cancer patients in the exhibition ‘Wellicht – In Search of Stories.’ (youtube.com) (ENG)
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