Teenage cancer patients get creative through art therapy

Twelve young people with cancer have been getting creative through a new art therapy project run by the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) and Vall d'Hebron Hospital. 

'Opening Doors' ('Obrint portes' in Catalan) aims to build patients' self-esteem, give them the opportunity to express themselves artistically, and provide the chance to get to know other teenagers in a similar situation. 

The program involves 12 patients aged between 12 and 17 from Vall d'Hebron's Pediatric Oncology and Hematology unit, and their families, who do separate activities. 

Across nine sessions at the MNAC on Tuesday afternoons, the young people explore their feelings and discuss art, before creating their own work with the support of the museum's technical teams.  

"The aim is to improve their quality of life, their emotional well-being, increase their self-esteem, strengthen their self-image, equip them with tools and strategies to face the uncertainty of the future, to promote social skills and make this a space for socializing," explains Sara Formentí, cancer psychologist at Vall d'Hebron Hospital. 

Opening doors

Rather than a drawing or painting, each work involves an artistic intervention on a door, which will be exhibited at the end of the project. 

"Doors are very symbolic. They give us a lot to play with," says the coordinator of MNAC's Arts in Health projects, Norma Vélez.   

"Especially in this situation, when they are starting a new, more positive, stage of their lives, it allows them to reflect a little on that." 

The patients chosen for the program by staff at Vall d'Hebron Hospital are in low-intensity treatment, in maintenance therapy, or have finished their treatment. 

For 16-year-old Maria, her door represents calm. "I think of it as the door that goes to my room, my door, and I'd like when you enter the room to be calm, for you to want to be there," she says. 

She has noticed the benefits of the program. "I would highly recommend it because you have a break from the norm, you can come here, make your door, talk to people," Maria says. 

"I really like it because it relaxes me, you also think a lot and you get to create your own work." 

Messi's boots

'Opening Doors' is the third collaboration since MNAC and the Catalan Institute of Health (ICS) signed an agreement with Vall d'Hebron University Hospital to explore the potential of art as a therapeutic tool, within the 'Arts en Salut' ('Arts in Health') program.  

It was financed by the auction of a special pair of Lionel Messi's boots, the ones he was wearing when he scored his 644th goal for FC Barcelona, thereby surpassing Pelé's record for most goals for a single club.   

When the project concludes, Vall d'Hebron Hospital will analyze the impact of art on the mental health of the young people.   

The initiative follows the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO) to incorporate arts and culture into healthcare systems.