Sylvester’s fourth annual Art is Medicine exhibit launched Nov. 25, 2025, in conjunction with Miami Art Week. The theme, “The Power of the Palette,” showcased food as medicine on the main stage. A QR code enabled viewers to learn more about the related science happening at Sylvester, including the gut microbiome, cell therapy and nutrition.
In addition to the main-stage work, the exhibit included contributions from a crowdsourced art competition. One of the contributors was Michael Rosen, who was undergoing cancer treatment at Sylvester. His photo “Great Blue Herons,” was taken in the Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Delray Beach, Fla. Other contributors included Brittany Malo, a nurse, whose photo of her friend and fellow breast cancer survivor, Roxy Chaviano, was taken amid the towering trees in Redwood National Forest in California.
Gerald Soff, M.D., chief of classical hematology at Sylvester, had two photos in the exhibit: one of a soaring bald eagle and one of a grizzly bear, both taken in Alaska. Dr. Soff put a lot of thought into what patients and their families might want to see in hospitals. “I started taking pictures of things I would want to see if I were a patient,” he said. “Illness can be horrible, but life is fundamentally beautiful, and that’s what I want to capture in my photos.”
Studies have shown that exposure to nature-inspired imagery can reduce stress, improve mood and enhance cognitive function. The Art is Medicine gallery aimed to foster emotional well-being and a sense of community by inviting patients, visitors and staff to pause, reflect and engage with art as a source of comfort, resilience and connection.
“Connecting with one another and ourselves, stress-reduction and finding beauty in life’s smallest moments is entirely the point of the gallery.”
