When Diane Brown started RxArt in 2002, the former gallerist had a million ideas about how art could improve hospitals and waiting rooms, but, she says, “no idea of what I was getting into” in regards to the logistics surrounding healthcare administration. Dismissed out of hand by skeptical boards—who cited conservative fine print and small budgets—Brown finally found her guinea pig at New York’s Rockefeller University Hospital. There, her proposal captured the imagination of Dr. Barry Coller, the hospital’s progressive physician-in-chief and husband of New York curator Barbara Coller. News of Brown’s site-specific project for Coller—which was a homerun success—spread quickly, eventually translating into a steady stream of requests and invitations. More than a decade later, the non-profit continues to grow, brightening hospitals across the US with museum-quality commissions.
- – Kat Herriman