site.btaArtists Bring ‘Healing Nature’ to Sofia Children’s Ward

Artists from Croatia and Portugal will join New Bulgarian University (NBU) lecturers and students to transform the paediatric ward at ISUL University Hospital, NBU said on Monday.

The makeover is part of Healing Nature – Animation for Health and Well-being in Children Hospital Environments, a Creative Europe project that also covers children’s wards in Zagreb and Lisbon. Led by the Croatian Association of Visual Artists (HDLU) in partnership with NBU and Lisbon’s Lusofona University, the initiative blends murals, animation and augmented-reality (AR) to create a calming, imaginative setting for young patients.

Three Added Reality experiences will bring the ward to live, and Bulgaria is the only partner involving students: NBU ran a national competition to choose the art concept, and two creative workshops will invite children to add their own ideas.

A parallel study will measure the installations’ impact on patients, families and staff to gauge how art and new media support recovery and psychosocial wellbeing.

The project is funded by the EU’s Creative Europe programme with support from Bulgaria’s National Culture Fund.