The Mark Taper and Johnny Mercer Artists Program

As a winner of our Morris and Mary Press Humanism Award, this program is a perfect example of what we term the 'heart' of the hospital. The breadth of this program -- its ability to reach children and provide avenues of expression, choice, and control -- is what makes it truly unique and fundamental in caring for the whole child, not just tending to their illness.

At our hospital, we not only use needles, pills, and bandages to help patients heal, but also paint, clay, instruments, and rhymes. The Mark Taper-Johnny Mercer Artists Program brings a wide array of arts experiences to critically and chronically ill children, teens, and families.

Program Aims

Our aim is to provide:

Long-term mentorship
Mastery toward artistic excellence
Multitude of opportunities for self-expression and exploration

An Innovative Model

Unlike the traditional art and recreation programs found in many hospitals, the Taper-Mercer Program is an innovative model that brings together local artists and performers with registered and certified Creative Arts Therapists to meet the diverse needs of our patient population. This multidisciplinary approach offers our patients something beyond diversionary arts and crafts projects.

Collaboration

We collaborate with local volunteer groups to provide workshops in:

Dance
Theater arts
Crafts
Jewelry making

Highly-respected professional artists and performers from the Los Angeles area offer entertainment, diversion, and education through workshops in both inpatient and outpatient patient care areas.

Creative Arts Therapists

Creative Arts Therapists -- including art therapists, music therapists, and poetry therapists -- work as part of the hospital’s Family-Centered Care treatment team. These Creative Arts Therapists are trained to assist patients and families in building coping skills, exploring the thoughts and feelings related to hospitalization and illness, and utilizing the arts for exploration and self-expression. All the while, young participants in the program are nurturing a life-long appreciation for the arts.

Program Impact

Through each of the past 17 years, the Arts Program has reached thousands of children through:

Group workshops in inpatient playrooms
One-on-one interactions at bedside
In waiting rooms
Pre-operative visits

The children's creativity brightens the hospital surroundings with art and poetry prominent on the lobby's donor wall, throughout the hospital's hallways, and in the healing gardens. Read more about our Welcoming Environment for Care.