The Healing Nature project has entered its final phase, bringing together an innovative combination of art, animation, and augmented reality within hospital spaces in Croatia, Portugal, and Bulgaria. Over the past period, murals, animations, AR content, educational workshops, and research tools have been developed, collectively creating a new hospital experience for children, parents, and healthcare staff.

In Croatia, workshops were conducted with children from Kuća sv. Franje in Vugrovec, SOS Children’s Village Lekenik, Ivan Gundulić Primary School, and Krijesnice Kindergarten. Through these workshops, children created numerous drawings inspired by nature and animals, which were later transformed into animated characters and integrated into the final murals and AR content.

In Bulgaria, workshops were organized with children without parental care at Gallery Hug Me, as well as with children with special needs at the Winnie the Pooh Speech Therapy Centre. Through drawing, storytelling, and collaborative creative work, participants created visual elements that became part of the Bulgarian mural and animation concept.

A special segment of the project focused on the development of stop-motion animation and the creation of puppets based on children’s drawings — including hedgehogs, insects, birds, and lizards — giving children’s ideas a new dimension through animation and augmented reality.

Animation teams from Croatia, Bulgaria, and Portugal developed diverse artistic approaches ranging from 2D digital animation and hand-drawn frame-by-frame animation to stop-motion techniques and watercolor animation loops. The storyboard process enabled the development of micro-narratives connected to individual mural elements, creating layered experiences of exploration, play, and interaction.

An especially important part of the project was the implementation of AR technology through the Artivive platform, allowing murals to “come to life” via mobile devices without the need for an additional application. Through months of testing, AR triggers, animation layers, and interactive elements were developed and adapted to real hospital environments and children’s user experiences.

The project also includes a research component based on eye-tracking analysis and user experience evaluation. Eye-tracking tests conducted on murals from Croatia, Portugal, and Bulgaria demonstrated how specific visual elements successfully attract and retain viewers’ attention, confirming the potential of artistic interventions in creating more pleasant and emotionally supportive hospital environments.

Following the completion of mural and AR implementation in hospitals, the final phase of research will begin, involving patients, parents, and healthcare staff in order to evaluate the impact of art, animation, and interactive content on the hospital experience.

Additional workshops in Portugal are planned before the end of the project.

Project results will be presented through international press conferences:
— Zagreb, June 15 at 12:00, Children’s Hospital Zagreb (Klaićeva)
— Lisbon, July 17
— Sofia, October 16

Healing Nature brings together partners from Croatia, Portugal, and Bulgaria and explores how contemporary art, participatory workshops, animation, and new technologies can contribute to more humane and inclusive healthcare spaces.

More about the project: Healing Nature

 

Within the project:

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

[Project Number: 101173267]

Project is co-financed by the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs.

Co-funded by the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Republic of Croatia. The views expressed in this release are the sole responsibility of the Croatian Association of Fine Artists and do not necessarily reflect the stance of the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Republic of Croatia.