How can hospital spaces become more welcoming, warmer and more stimulating for children? The European project Healing Nature – Animation for Health and Well-being in Children Hospital Environments explored how art, nature-inspired motifs and augmented reality technology can contribute to a better experience for children during their hospital stay.

The project Healing Nature – Animation for Health and Well-being in Children Hospital Environments was implemented by the Croatian Association of Fine Artists (HDLU) from 1 November 2024 to 1 November 2026, in collaboration with partner organisations from Portugal and Bulgaria, with support from the European Union’s Creative Europe programme. By bringing together contemporary artistic practice, animation, augmented reality technology, education and research, the project aimed to enrich paediatric hospital spaces with nature-inspired art and explore its potential to create a more stimulating and emotionally supportive environment for children and their families.

From Children’s Drawings to Animated Murals

The central component of the project was the creation of three nature-inspired murals, installed in all three partner hospitals in Croatia, Bulgaria and Portugal: the Children’s Hospital Zagreb, the Queen Joanna University Hospital ISUL in Sofia, and Dona Estefânia Hospital in Lisbon. In Croatia, the Forest of Little Wonders mural was also installed in the Mladen Ćepulić Day Hospital at the Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Centre’s Oncology Clinic.

The Croatian mural Forest of Little Wonders, created by Melinda Šefčić, presents a playful world of animals, plants and hidden details, developed with contributions from children’s drawings. The Bulgarian mural The Lilies and the White Pond, created by Lidiya Tsvetkova, depicts a fairytale-like scene inspired by nature, with Evgeniya Stoitseva contributing to the creation of the character models. The Portuguese mural Spring Breeze, created by Natalie Woolf, draws inspiration from spring meadows, plants and landscapes.

A special dimension of the project was the development of animations and augmented reality (AR) experiences, which added an interactive layer to the murals. For the Croatian mural Forest of Little Wonders, Lea Vidaković created puppets for stop-motion animation, while animators Katrin Novaković and João Miguel Real also contributed to the animation process. Matea Kovač was responsible for integrating the animated elements into the AR experience, enabling visitors to discover an additional layer of the artwork through digital technology.

In Bulgaria, the animation for The Lilies and the White Pond was developed by a team from the New Bulgarian University under the mentorship of Sevina Ivanova. The animation team consisted of Evgeniya Stoitseva, Daria Ruseva, Boryana Angelova, Nelina Petkova and Lyudmil Vasilev. The animation was created using digital hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animation, with an emphasis on character development and storytelling.

The animation for the Portuguese mural Spring Breeze was developed by a team from Lusófona University under the direction of Pedro Serrazina and Natalie Woolf, with production coordination by Caterina Gil. The animation was created by Ana Isabel Viana Cortes, Daniela Tietzen and Paulo Diogo Simão, who used drawing and watercolour as the starting point for fluid movements and atmospheric scenes.

The animated content of all three murals was integrated into augmented reality experiences using the Artivive platform. By scanning selected sections of the murals with a mobile device, visitors can discover animated scenes that complement the physical artwork and connect art, nature and digital technology in an interactive experience. In the Croatian team, Matea Kovač led the integration of the animated elements into the AR system.

Children as Active Participants in the Creative Process

An important part of the project consisted of participatory workshops in which children explored nature, their own experiences and the motifs they would like to see in their surroundings through drawing and creative expression. Their artworks and ideas contributed to the development of the project’s content, while the workshops connected artistic creation with learning, play and shared experiences.

Six creative workshops for children were held as part of the project in Croatia, Bulgaria and Portugal. They were designed to encourage the exploration of nature, creative expression and children’s participation in creating artistic content for hospital spaces.

In Croatia, two workshops were held for children without adequate parental care: on 24 February 2025 at the House of St Francis, run by Caritas of the Archdiocese of Zagreb in Vugrovec, and on 18 March 2025 at SOS Children’s Village Lekenik. Through drawing, the children explored nature, animals and the importance of environmental conservation. Their artworks subsequently served as inspiration for the project’s artistic content.

In Bulgaria, two workshops took place: one at the “Hug Me” Gallery in Sofia on 17 May 2025 and another at the Winnie the Pooh Speech Therapy Centre on 30 August 2025. Participants explored different natural habitats and developed characters and scenes inspired by nature, including ideas for the The Lilies and the White Pond mural.

In Portugal, a workshop was held on 5 June 2026 at Dona Estefânia Hospital in Lisbon, bringing together children, parents and caregivers, as well as healthcare professionals. Through drawing, making paper elements, exploring light and shadow, and shadow theatre, participants explored different forms of creative expression, alongside a presentation of the project’s AR content.

By involving children in the creative process, the project encouraged them to take an active role in thinking about the spaces around them, while opening up opportunities to express their ideas and feelings through art. Children’s drawings and creative solutions became an important part of the process of creating the murals and animated content, connecting children’s imagination with artistic interventions in the hospital environment.

Research: How Do Children Experience Art in Hospitals?

The research team from Lusófona University — Ana Beato, Ana Loureiro, Bernardo Cruz and Isabel Santos — investigated how nature-inspired murals and interactive AR animations influence the experiences of children and their parents in hospital waiting rooms. The research was conducted in paediatric hospitals in Croatia, Bulgaria and Portugal and involved approximately 300 children and adolescents aged 4 to 17, together with their parents and caregivers. Perceptions of the spaces were assessed before the murals were installed and approximately three months after the interventions.

The results showed a positive shift in how the hospital spaces were perceived. Following the artistic interventions, children and parents more frequently described the waiting rooms as warmer, brighter and more colourful, while perceptions of the spaces as dark and empty decreased. Among children, an increase in reported feelings of satisfaction was recorded, alongside a decrease in responses associated with fear, boredom and anxiety. Parents, in turn, reported feeling less bored while waiting.

Nature captured children’s attention and left a strong impression. Animals were among the elements children most frequently remembered, mentioned by 35% of participants, while 32.6% highlighted the visual elements of the murals among the features they liked most. Animals, plants and colours accounted for half of the children’s associations with nature, and as many as 70% of responses indicated that the children had not identified anything they disliked about the artistic intervention. Some children also expressed a wish for additional features, such as sound, games and more realistic animations, suggesting an interest in an even more interactive experience.

The findings provide preliminary evidence that nature-inspired art, combined with animation and augmented reality, can transform time spent in a hospital waiting room into a more positive and stimulating experience. The murals offer children a visual respite from everyday hospital life, stimulate curiosity and imagination, and help create a warmer, more emotionally supportive environment for children and their families. Although the results do not establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship with children’s psychological or health outcomes, they demonstrate the potential of art to make hospital spaces more humane and better suited to children’s needs.

European Recognition and International Dissemination

An important outcome of Healing Nature was the dissemination of the knowledge and experience gained during its implementation and their presentation to international professional audiences. The project was presented at a number of international professional and cultural events, including the Culture and Health Forum in Turku, the New European Bauhaus Festival in Brussels, Animafest Zagreb, UNGA Healing Arts Week in New York, and the Bridging Visual Arts & Healthcare: Impact, Innovation, Research conference in Boston.

Participation in these events enabled the exchange of experiences with artists, researchers, healthcare professionals and other experts working at the intersection of culture and health. The project thus became part of a broader international discussion on the role of art in creating more humane healthcare environments and improving the well-being of the people who use them.

A particularly significant recognition was the inclusion of Healing Nature in the European Commission’s publication Culture and Health – Time to Act as an example of good practice in connecting culture, health and well-being. This recognition further highlighted the relevance of the project’s approach in the European context and the potential of cooperation between the cultural and healthcare sectors.

Another important step towards the further application of the project’s results is the planned installation of the Croatian mural at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford in the United States. The opportunity to present the work in a new healthcare setting arose through international networking and collaboration established at the Bridging Visual Arts & Healthcare conference. This opens up opportunities to further extend the approach developed through the project and apply artistic interventions beyond their original context.

Sharing Results and Connecting Different Audiences

The project’s dissemination activities included a range of initiatives aimed at presenting the artworks, animations, research findings and experience gained during implementation. Information about the project and its results is available on the dedicated project website, healingnature.hdlu.hr, while project partners in Croatia, Bulgaria and Portugal contributed to their dissemination through their own communication networks, professional collaborations and events.

Promotional materials were produced to support the project’s promotion and dissemination, including 300 leaflets in Croatian and English, 100 promotional T-shirts, 400 stickers and a project pop-up banner used at various events. An educational memory game inspired by the project was also created, and 80 copies of a catalogue bringing together the project’s activities, artworks and research findings were printed.

Dissemination was not aimed solely at increasing the project’s visibility, but primarily at sharing experiences and knowledge about the possibilities of combining art, animation and augmented reality technology in healthcare settings. Through international professional presentations, exhibitions, workshops and communication with cultural and healthcare institutions, the project helped raise interest in the use of artistic interventions in spaces designed for children.

Results That Will Live On

With the project’s completion in November 2026, its legacy includes the completed murals and animated content, the experience gained through participatory workshops, the findings of international research, and the knowledge and collaborations that open up opportunities for further initiatives at the intersection of art and health.

Healing Nature demonstrated how artistic interventions can become part of a broader approach to humanising healthcare environments, and how collaboration between artists, children, researchers and institutions can open up new ways of designing spaces that respond to children’s needs.

The project’s inclusion in the European Commission’s publication as an example of good practice and the planned installation of the Croatian mural at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford are two particularly significant indicators of its international reach and the potential for the further application of its results.

Healing Nature therefore leaves behind more than completed artworks: it lays the foundations for continued cooperation between the cultural and healthcare sectors and for the development of spaces in which art can become part of the everyday experience of children and their families.

More information about the project, its artworks, animations, workshops and research findings is available at healingnature.hdlu.hr.