Library and Academic Services: Oncology Nursing: Cancer and Art

Cancer & Art

Art and Cancer

This page contains a vast collection of resources on where Art and Cancer intersect.

Here you will find:

Recommended keywords for searching
Articles
Library resources - books, ebooks, and videos on art and cancer
Art & Cancer: Online resources, including Robert Pope and other online art projects and collaborations.

Recommended Keywords for Searching

Altered body image
Art therapy
Arts-based inquiry
Arts-based research
Cancer - patients

Cancer stories
Healing
Lived experience
Psychology

Social isolation
Specific types of cancers
Stigma

Articles

Library resources

Art Therapy and Cancer Care by Diane Waller; Caryl Sibbett
Location: ebook
Publication Date: 2005
Inspired by the experience of art therapists who have pioneered work with people with cancer and including those who have experienced this devastating illness at first hand, ...
Music Therapy in Palliative Care by David Aldridge (Editor)
Location: ML 3920 .M89795 1998 (Located at NDC)
Within the last decade music therapists have developed their work with people who have life-threatening illnesses and with those who are dying. ...
Art in Treatment by Dee Spring
Location: ebook
Publication Date: 2006
While the intention of the book is to compare and contrast the different ideologies and practices prevalent in art therapy across the globe, it also provides an extensive look at the many venues in which art therapy is successfully applied. ...
River of Life by Walcher, Werner, et al.; National Film Board of Canada (Montreal)
Publication Date: 2009
This is the Yukon River Quest, the world's longest annual canoe and kayak race. From around the world, athletes come to test their endurance, racing day...

Cancer & Art: Online resources

Robert Pope

Robert Pope (1956-1992) was a dedicated Nova Scotia artist who died of Hodgkin’s Disease, cancer of the lymphatic system, at the age of 35 after a ten year battle with the illness.

He is best known for a significant body of work exploring his experience of healthcare and healing as a cancer patient exhibited nationally and internationally at over 65 venues.

They also formed the compelling visual narrative for the 1991 book he wrote called Illness and Healing, Images of Cancer. (Image and text source: Robert Pope Foundation)

Robert Pope Foundation
A website dedicated to Robert Pope. Contains links to publications and various resources.
more...less...
Image: R Pope, Healing hands

Illness & Healing: Images of Cancer by Robert Pope
Location: ebook
Publication Date: 2018
This book was an inspiration to the general public in Nova Scotia and beyond. It also became an important example of the cancer patients’ experience of illness for the medical profession and it is now a key text used in various Medical Schools in Canada and elsewhere.

Carlson, T. (1992). Turning sickness into art: Robert Pope and his battle with cancer. Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), 147(2), 229–232.

Other Art Projects and Collaborations

Arts for health enquiry into cancer patient experience
Eleven cancer patients took part in Living Alone with Cancer Explorations, an arts-for-health initiative where they produced creative pieces that reflected their experiences. This involved writing poems, making drawings, paintings and sculptures, collating images and writing a narrative about which parts of their cancer journey do these creative pieces represent.
Breast Cancer Art Project
The online gallery of the Breast Cancer Art Project is created by the breast cancer community for the breast cancer community, yet at the same time helping others, such as family, friends and colleagues, as well as medical professionals and the wider public, to better understand what we are going through.
LIlly Oncology on Canvas
It’s never been easier to be inspired by the many artworks and stories shared here. Search by year, art type, or category.
Living Proof Exhibit
Living Proof Exhibit provides the therapeutic benefits of the arts to those impacted by cancer. This includes patients, survivors, families and caregivers. We provide monthly Creative Sessions, exhibitions of art created by cancer survivors as a annual major exhibition and permanent rotating exhibitions at the cancer centers, art-to-go projects for patients and their families, as well as utilizing Beam Pro technology to share the exhibitions at the Figge Art Museum with patients receiving treatment at the cancer centers.
McMaster, G. (2020). Visual art project conveys emotional stories of head and neck cancer survivors. Folio (online) - University of Alberta
A collaborative project at the University of Alberta—the first of its kind in Canada—aims to convey through visual art the emotional turmoil survivors of ...
Taylor, P. (2018) Healing Through Art. Cancer Today (online)
An article about the Breast Cancer Art Project...In the half year since the project’s founding, it has featured more than 100 works by 30 visual artists and poets...

Provide Feedback

Found a broken link? Want to suggest a resource?

Email the Library's general mailbox or email the guide owner to provide feedback for this Library guide. Guide owner information is on the "Getting Started" page of each guide.

You may also want to...