An Italian Artist Turns Dull Hospital Walls Into Magic Kingdoms to Help Children Combat Their Fears

More than 90% of children are afraid of at least one thing in hospitals. This might be especially true if the treatment takes a long time and includes undergoing many medical procedures. And spending days inside grey walls for sure doesn’t sound like an exciting adventure. To make their journey at least a little bit easier, an artist started a project that helps these tiny patients combat their fears.

Bright Side wants to tell you the story of Silvio Irilli, an Italian artist who founded the Ospedali Dipinti project, to boost children’s spirits and transform dull hospital walls into magical worlds.

The artist creates enchanting paintings that help fight kids’ fears.

The Ospedali Dipinti project was founded in 2012 and it brought together non-charitable organizations and ordinary people who wanted to make hospital spaces friendlier for kids. Their goal was to create a magical world in a hospital room that would spark children’s imagination and help them dream.

Children get a chance to “escape” inside a fairytale world.

Decorating a hospital room is not just about making a room prettier. Irilli believes that every work he creates should interact with the children and tell them a story, so their treatment feels more like a game and not a challenge.

Adults also feel like they are entering another dimension.

But Silvio’s works are designed to help not only the kids, but also the parents. These huge paintings that cover the walls give adults the impression that they’re walking into a magical world and bring them much-needed feelings of calmness.

Silvio shows his support to the doctors too.

Silvio uses his paintings as a tool to spread a message of support to the doctors who will work with these tiny patients and guide them through their therapy. All of the paintings are printed on special wallpaper that will cover hospital walls.

Silvio and his team get a lot of positive feedback on Facebook.

Silvio and his colleagues get a lot of positive comments on their Facebook page. People thank them for this beautiful initiative and hope that these colorful illustrations will truly warm the patients’ souls.

Are there any similar initiatives in a place where you live? In what way can we contribute to helping people who need support?