November 21, 2023

s3e44 on the importance of art in hospitals for patients and staff with Naomi Huth, director of art collection and curator, NYC Health + Hospitals

1 hour 2 minutes

There's often a ton of art in medical spaces, but who are the curators of those health system collections?

In s3e44, Platemark host Ann Shafer speaks with Naomi Huth, chief curator and director of the art collection for NYC Health + Hospitals. Held within the Arts in Medicine department, NYC Health + Hospitals has one of the largest public (non museum) art collections in New York City with more than 7,000 works of art, including a number of murals. Their goal is to make art accessible to the public and integrate the collection into healing environments across NYC Health + Hospitals’ eleven acute care hospitals, five nursing homes, six diagnostic and treatment centers, and more than seventy community-based primary care sites.

A major part of Naomi's job is to highlight the concepts of diversity and accessibility in collecting, collaboration, and mentoring emerging artists. She has focused on acquiring works by underrepresented artists to improve and diversify the collection as well as integrating diverse perspectives into the collection and fostering a better understanding of the issues of today through the lens of art.

We talk about how art can reduce stress, offer peace, and help both patients and their families and medical staff members find moments of respite in busy and intense spaces. It's different yet not from being a museum curator.

From 2012–2021, Naomi was the curator for the Joseph M. Cohen Family Collection, a large private collection with six locations around the United States. She has previously held curatorial positions at the New Museum, Museum of Arts and Design, Rubin Museum, and the de Young Museum. Naomi is a member of the Young Collectors Council acquisitions committee at the Guggenheim, the advisory board of the Center for Photography in Woodstock, Independent Curators International, and is an accredited member of the Appraisers Association of America. She earned her M.A. in Art History and Museum Studies from the City College of New York (CCNY) and her B.S. in Fashion Design and Art History from Drexel University.

William Palmer. Function of a Hospital, 1934. Mural. NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst Hospital Center, Queens.

Georgette Seabrooke. Recreation in Harlem, 1936. Mural. NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem Hospital Center, Manhattan.

Angel Garcia. The Shoulders of Legacy, 2021. NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, Manhattan.

Charles Alston. Man Emerging, 1969. Mural. NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem Hospital Center, Manhattan.

Staff wellness room, NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County, Brooklyn.

Linda LeKniff pastels in the pharmacy at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Morrisania, Bronx.

Andy Warhol print at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, Manhattan.

Oscar Lett. Origins and Today, 2019. Mural. NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County, Brooklyn.

Kristy McCarthy. Together We Heal, 2023. Mural located in the waiting room of the pediatric emergency department at NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, Brooklyn.

Fernando “Ski” Romero and Modesto Flako Jimenez. Guns Down, Life Up, 2023. NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln Hospital, Bronx.

Keith Haring. 1986 mural at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull, Brooklyn.

USEFUL LINKS

NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine department: https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/artsinmedicine/

NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine art collection: https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/artsinmedicine/art-collection/

NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine programs:

https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/artsinmedicine/programs/

NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine Bloomberg Connects app:https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/artsinmedicine/programs/#artsInMedicineMobileApp

Naomi Huth’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/naomi__huth/

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By Ann Shafer, curator and print evangelist

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