Can art influence medicine? Are doctors artists? At the University of Minnesota Medical School’s Center for the Art of Medicine, the answer to both questions is a resounding yes.

Founded in 2020, the center integrates the arts and humanities into medical education and practice by encouraging current and future physicians to explore how creativity can enhance the power of healing.

The center advocates for medical students to explore medicine through writing, storytelling, slam performances, painting, video production (including the Emmy Award-winning Art + Medicine series), and other fine, visual, and performing arts.

“It’s all about nurturing empathy, resilience, and professionalism to meet the demands of modern medicine and ensure the art of medicine remains vibrant, vital, and deeply human,” says Jon Hallberg, MD, the center’s creative director and professor in the Medical School’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health.

With philanthropic support, the center recently moved its operations into a physical space for the first time. Hallberg says students, faculty, and physicians now have more room to exercise their “creative minds and healing hearts,” fostering collaboration, reflection, and innovation in an environment designed to inspire both artistic expression and compassionate care.

Take a look inside.

PHOTOS BY ERIN BENNER