Breast cancer survivor and Riverton City Arts Administrator Vicki Wartman said as she recovered from cancer, it was art that helped her heal. 

“Art is all around us,” she said. “Storytelling is all around us and art can help take the families away from what they’re thinking about for a minute as they’re walking through the halls. Or art can be a healing process, just painting your feelings out.”

Through a collaboration with Riverton City, Intermountain Health Riverton Hospital (3741 W. 12600 South) officially unveiled the Riverton City Art of Care and Community Wall in the south main hall of the building in January. The rotating art display will feature paintings, photos and sculptures designed to symbolize courage and healing.

The current display includes pieces from Still Standing: The Art of the Fight, an exhibit that was held at the Old Dome Meeting Hall last year. The art celebrates resilience and strength and depicts how creativity can help those undergoing medical trauma.

Local sculptor Nate Brimhall has two pieces in the hospital exhibit: “Hope” and “Together.”

“Art means communication. It means connection. It means community,” he said. “Art allows us to say things that we can’t express. “Together” is two hands and the energy that we create when we work together. When we work together, we create more energy. And the piece ‘Together,’ you can touch the middle part and it will move. I invite you to always interact with my art.”

His sculpture “Hope,” was inspired by his 19-year-old nephew who ended up needing a heart transplant. Brimhall said he equates hope with faith. 

Dawna Miller works at Riverton Hospital and has experienced her own battle with cancer over the last year. She related to Brimhall’s art piece and shared her emotional journey as she completes her cancer treatments. 

“It’s about hope, you know,” Miller said. “It’s having the hope and having the willpower. Obviously, it’s gonna work out one way or the other. But it’s hope and hoping.”

Riverton Mayor Tish Buroker was on hand to help cut the ribbon, officially opening the art exhibit. She said her husband, Brian, is a nurse and photographer who hung photos on the wall at the hospital where he worked because he found it made a difference for patients and their families.

“They had something to look at and something to take their mind off what was happening,” Buroker said. “I was talking to [Riverton Hospital President Todd Neubert] just this morning. He talked about how the nurses and the patients are taking a moment to look at this art and think about it. It takes you a little bit out of yourself and it gives you great hope.”

Riverton Hospital first opened its doors in 2009 and has grown to include a medical staff of more than 250 doctors, representing 30 specialties. The Riverton City Art of Care and Community Wall is the latest addition, designed to inspire, connect and tell a story.

“This project reflects a shared desire to bring comfort, creativity and moments of calm into a place where they matter deeply,” Wartman said. “This art wall is just the beginning. We look forward to welcoming many future exhibits that continue to bring art and wellness together and strengthen the connection between our city, our hospital and our community.”