The Center for Humanities in Medicine supports Mayo Clinic’s primary value, the needs of the patient come first, by integrating the arts and other expressions of human culture into the healing environment. The Center engages interconnected communities of patients, families, staff, learners, and the public to promote the artful and compassionate delivery of healthcare. Humanities in Medicine activities are open to Mayo Clinic patients, staff, visitors and community members and are made possible by the generous donations of grateful benefactors.

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Enriching the Spirit, Enhancing Healing

Since Mayo Clinic’s beginning more than a century ago, the Mayo community has valued the restorative effects of the arts and the role of humanities in strengthening patient care. In 1914, the Mayo Brothers agreed that new buildings should be designed in a way that would help patients “find some measure of peace and solace while awaiting their appointments with the physician.”

Construction of the first Mayo Clinic Building began a tradition of Mayo facilities where “the healing process begins the moment a patient enters the front door.” Furthering these principles, the Mayo Clinic Center for Humanities in Medicine has worked to enrich the human spirit and to enhance the healing process for patients from the time it was established in the early 1980s. The Center offers programs at each Mayo Clinic site in Arizona, Florida, and Minnesota. On almost any day, patients, staff, learners and visitors participate in creative and insightful activities throughout our campuses.

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Events occur at all three sites.  Click on each location for more information.

Minnesota                                              Florida                                                    Arizona

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Programs are open to Mayo Clinic patients, staff, visitors and community members and are made possible by the generous donations of grateful benefactors.

Music Performances
Dynamic program that integrates personal artistic expressions into the healing process

Visual Art Exhibitions
Art from around the world that enhances, and encourages interaction with, the healing environment

Theatre and Dance Events
Live theater or dance performances to inspire, teach or address universal human issues

Bedside Arts Programs
Activities that pair professional artists with hospitalized patients, extending traditional patient care to include creative pursuits and self-discovery

Workshops
Opportunities for participants to reflect, interact and express themselves through varied methods and coping techniques such as art making, creative writing, music and relaxation

Lectures
Renowned speakers in medical ethics and the arts focusing on numerous topics

Education
Educational programs provided by the Center promote the development of well-rounded health care professionals who are aware of Mayo Clinic’s unique heritage, understand the benefits of a culturally rich healing environment, and are trained in the art of medicine as an essential professional asset