Cancerwise

A beige countryside. A winding stream. A field punctuated by a grazing cow.

Jennifer Finkel, Ph.D., knows that the artwork traditionally found in hospitals tends to blend into the wallpaper at the exact moment a patient may need it the most. That's why she’s adamant that art never be an afterthought or a finishing touch. Instead, she sees art as a cornerstone of a patient’s experience, providing mental respite, playing a role in wayfinding and even affecting clinical outcomes.

Since joining MD Anderson as associate vice president for Art Experience in January 2025, she's worked to curate an art collection that’s an indispensable part of the patient experience. As MD Anderson expands its facilities, this often means poring over floor plans and considering art commissions well before ground breaks on a project. Her commitment to the art experience often comes at the expense of a functional dining room table.

“I love sitting down with floor plans and figuring out space,” she says. “My husband asked, “Are we going to see our dining room table?” I responded, “No, that's our floor plan table.”

We recently spoke with her about her path to MD Anderson and a preview of what visitors can expect from the art experience.

What sparked your interest in art?

If you asked my mother, she would say it's because, growing up in Washington, D.C., every week, we would go to the National Gallery of Art. But while I always loved art and going to museums, I never thought about it as a career.

My freshman year of college at Georgetown University, I applied for business school. I remember struggling until I took my first art history class. I called my mom and said, “I found my passion.” I switched majors and took as many art history classes as I could. I spent my junior year in Florence, Italy, and just fell in love.

Following my undergraduate degree, I got my master’s degree in art history at Case Western Reserve University. I chose that program because it has a joint affiliation with the Cleveland Museum of Art. All my classes were in the museum. We would have a Rembrandt seminar, and they would take the Rembrandt off the wall and we would go to conservation and look at it under raking light.

I stayed at Case Western for my Ph.D. in Italian Renaissance art history. I originally thought I would go into academia and teach. But as I was finishing my doctorate, I saw an ad for a part-time curator position at Cleveland Clinic. When I started, something clicked: I felt like I was in service. It was palpable how much the art and environment mattered to patients, families and employees.

I spent the next 15 years there building an amazing contemporary art program. I learned that I love working with architects and designers to figure out a space. I love thinking about how people navigate space and how art can help with wayfinding and storytelling.

Now, at MD Anderson, I’m so excited to create a collection that will be a destination for people to have an art experience. I want people to come away feeling that art mattered to their stay and care.

What does the art experience look like within a health care setting?

As an art historian, you never want to hear that art can be a distraction. But, in a hospital, art is absolutely a positive distraction. Art can transport you to another place. It can provide respite and levity or even be challenging. For that moment, you're not thinking about why you're there.

What places represent the art experience for you personally?

I've had so many of these experiences in my life where I walk into a space, and I think, ‘Oh my gosh, take me away. This is so amazing.’ A lot of those for me have been in Venice at the Venice Biennale, where you'll have a 16th century palazzo next to a contemporary art activation.

Another example came when I was visiting the Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center in Jacksonville, Florida. There are floor-to-ceiling windows looking over the greenery and courtyards out to the water. The furnishings are so minimal with calming, neutral palettes. The art just pops. There is no visual noise; the desks are clear of paper and clutter. You walk in, and it just feels really calming.

What role does art play in physical and emotional healing?

During my time in Cleveland, my team received hundreds of testimonials from patients telling us how the art impacted them. All the art was labeled, so some patients even contacted the artists directly.

This inspired my team to conduct two studies on the impact of art on patient mood, stress, comfort and overall experience. We found that the longer patients were in the hospital, the more they noted improvements in these areas. We were the first group to study a collection of both representational and abstract art. There's since been a growing body of research on this topic. We know that art can impact well-being.

What is your goal for MD Anderson’s art collection?

MD Anderson is the nation's No. 1 cancer center, and we want to build a world-class contemporary art collection that is a reflection of the people we serve and who we are.

I want to create a collection that includes a variety of media and materials from local, regional, national and international artists: photography, painting, works on paper, textiles, sculpture and video.

We're not all one thing. We're all different, and art is so subjective. That's why I don't believe in all landscapes or all abstraction or all photography or all this or all that. Maybe you’ll see a piece and think, “Oh, I don't like that.” But if you walk five more paces, maybe you’ll find something you do like. That’s the beauty of a diverse collection: there's something for everyone.