A book launch has ended a week of celebrations for the 20th anniversary of John Hunter Hospital's art program.
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The hospital's "Arts for Health" program was established by Marily Cintra in 1998 to help create a pleasant environment for patients and staff and also offer a distraction for patients, their families and friends during difficult times.
The hospital has hosted painting workshops, as well as music and dance performances throughout the week to mark the anniversary.
To top it all off a "20 years of Arts for Health" book was launched on Friday, created by the program's coordinator Juliet Ackery and volunteers in partnership with students from the University of Newcastle.
Ms Ackery said the book provided an overview of some of the special projects the program had hosted over the past two decades, as well as the program's history.
Ms Ackery said the Arts for Health program aims to improve the well-being of everyone at the hospital.
"We're looking at the whole community, so patients, staff and visitors. We have a staff exhibition the 'Hunter Bald', which staff members submit work to," she said.
"We have a music program involving the grand piano in the foyer, as well as music in the wards, performances in the hospital and art exhibitions.
"Over the 20 years, 1400 artists have exhibited at the hospital from 26 backgrounds. The oldest artist to have exhibited is 90 and the youngest was four-years-old."