The Sky Factory^™ Luminous SkyCeiling^™ installation at the Canadian Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary, Alberta, was featured on the September 28, 2007 Global Calgary news feature Health Beat with Michelle Schurman. Our thanks to Global Calgary TV for permission to post this. Click here to see the video.

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Art à la Carte recently unveiled its first Luminous SkyCeiling™ at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The concept was an easy sell when Art à la Carte advisor, Dr. Mark Trueman, first brought the idea up.

Everyone agreed that placing a SkyCeiling above the imposing linear accelerators used during radiotherapy would help to reduce stress, not just for patients, but for the staff administering the treatments as well. What better way to implement the mission of Art à la Carte than by combining artistry with comfort?

Ruth Trueman, Volunteer Coordinator, said, "As a volunteer with Art à la Carte, I attended the unveiling of The Sky Factory's SkyCeiling at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary. Never having been an oncology patient, I could not imagine the experience. But, at the reception following the unveiling I did hear a patient say, 'If only I had been able to look at an image like this one, I would not have been so frightened.'

She went on to explain the utter loneliness of her visits. 'First of all, the treatment rooms are usually in the dreary hospital basement. Then it is very distressing when you are left by yourself on a table under an enormous and intimidating piece of equipment. The room is dark, quiet and still, particularly when the technician leaves to manage the controls of the machine.

I would have welcomed this window over my head with its beautiful and cheerful view of the blue sky and pink blossoms. It would have carried me away from my therapy to another happier environment.' It was a powerful confirmation of the value of art in its many expressions and hospital settings: near a bedside, along a corridor or above the latest model of a Linear Accelerator."

Art à la Carte™ is a registered charitable organization based in Calgary that delivers artwork to the hospital rooms of long-term care cancer patients. It provides a unique opportunity for patients, visitors and caregivers to find encouragement and hope by choosing art for their rooms.

What began as an art lending library for patients on one unit at Calgary's Foothills Medical Centre has now grown into a unique complement to patient care. Since 1994, more than 38,000 visits have been made to local health care facilities by compassionate volunteers who offer comfort to patients and families by helping to restore dignity and raise morale.

This Installation Features:
The Luminous Rectilinear SkyCeiling^TM