How Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center uses art for cura personalis

A typical day in the studio finds Aida Murad, the current artist-in-residence exhibitor at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, up to her elbows in paint—literally. After a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis left her temporarily unable to move her fingers or hold a paintbrush, the artist persevered by using her hands to apply paint to the canvas. The method opened Murad to a transformative healing experience, and she has continued to paint this way ever since.

Healing through art is a key value of Georgetown Lombardi, which aims to care for the whole person physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Cura personalis extends beyond the patients to their whole network of families, health care providers, and visitors.

Murad’s paintings were installed at the cancer center in September 2022 as part of the Lombardi Arts & Humanities Program, established over 30 years ago to promote care of the whole person through music, visual arts, expressive writing, and dance. This year’s artist-in-residency exhibition by Murad, sponsored and envisioned by a former patient, is just one of many arts programs that Lombardi offers.

“Our basic premise in the beginning was to take art to the patients and the staff and the students and the medical providers, and infuse their days with creativity,” says Julia Langley, director of the Lombardi Arts and Humanities Program and an instructor at the School of Medicine.

Over the years, through philanthropic support, the program has expanded to offer a variety of art opportunities, including stretch breaks, collages, beadwork, poetry, narrative writing, and live music.

Musicians play in the cancer care waiting area and visit patients in their rooms at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.