Host A PaintFest

• The Foundation For Hospital Art's mission is to donate art to hospitals at no cost to the hospitals. Funding for In-Hospital PaintFests is usually provided by a corporate sponsor, but can also be funded by a foundation grant.

• Sometimes corporations request that a PaintFest take place at a particular hospital, but often hospitals decide they would like to host a PaintFest and then proactively seek a corporate sponsor to fund it.

• Call the Foundation for Hospital Art (770) 645-1717 (EST M--F 9 to 5) and we will talk you through the process of seeking sponsorship and hosting a PaintFest. We will also mail you a packet of materials that will assist you in the process.

• A good place to start looking for potential corporate sponsors is the hospital's Public Affairs Department. They have established relationships with corporations. Also, the pharmacists in your hospital have access to pharmaceutical reps who often have access to budgets for special events and are looking for opportunities to make a good impression at the hospital. Simply present the PaintFest idea to these people, assisted by the marketing materials we will mail you and the website (www.hospitalart.org). Call us when you have questions, we are glad to help you.

• PaintFest budgets vary, depending on factors such as the number of participants, the duration of the event, the level of orchestration required by the Foundation for Hospital Art, and travel costs, when applicable. We will provide a customized budget quote for your unique PaintFest.

• We will work with you to plan the logistics of the PaintFest, such as determining the paint station locations within the hospitals and determining the number of tables that will be needed, etc. We prepare the artwork and art supplies ahead of time in our Roswell, Georgia studio and ship them to you via UPS. If we will be orchestrating the PaintFest, we will arrive early to do a walk through of the hospital. At this time decisions will be made on where to paint wall murals, and if there are places in the ceiling for "sets" of ceiling tiles. The wall murals and ceiling tiles will be drawn during this "prep-time."

• The HOSPITAL PROVIDES THE CEILING TILES. This is because ceiling tiles are too fragile to transport and are different in every hospital. Most hospitals have many extra ceiling tiles in storage that can be used for the PaintFest. We will draw the outlines on them prior to the PaintFest, sometimes the day prior, during the prep-time. Once painted, the old ceiling tiles in strategic areas are simply replaced by the painted ceiling tiles. The old tiles can then become the "spare" ceiling tiles.

• The hospital promotes the PaintFest internally with flyers, posters, announcements, etc. as well as to the local media contacts, if desired. Sometimes the sponsor will also employ a Public Relations Firm to assist in attaining maximum publicity.

• During the PaintFest, hospital and community volunteers assist in keeping things running smoothly. Everyone is invited to participate in the PaintFest, patients, families, hospital staff, and community volunteers. Towards the end of the PaintFest, people are taught how to "touch-up" the artwork. In most cases, all the artwork is completely touched-up by the end of the In-Hospital PaintFest and can be immediately donated to the hospital. Otherwise, it is completed at the Foundation's studio and then shipped back to the hospitals upon completion.

• The hospital's engineering staff hangs the multiple-canvas-paintings and ceiling tiles on their own timeline. This gives them flexibility to avoid disturbing patients or staff. Hanging instructions are provided.

• Now all that's left to do is to enjoy the artwork! Scientific studies support the idea that art can have a positive affect on people in hospitals. The thousands of people who pass through your hospital in a given year will thank you!