HEarts network – arts and culture in medical education
The Teaching and Learning Unit runs the HEarts - Health Education Arts network at Karolinska Institutet. We bring together employees from several different departments and organisations at KI to explore how art, culture and the humanities can be integrated into our curricula to improve teaching and learning.
The intersection of the humanities and healthcare education opens up opportunities for more holistic and empathetic methods of training future healthcare professionals. By visiting various exhibitions and performances, the network introduces you to different forms of art and the humanities. The network organises 2-3 HEarts events each semester where we explore different forms of culture and how these can be integrated as methods for education.
This network is aimed at those who are curious and want to discover new and alternative elements in teaching. It doesn't matter what background or previous knowledge you have, everyone is welcome.
HEarts spring program 2026
February 24
Collecting Shells
Venue: Saskia Neuman Gallery, Linnégatan 19
Type: Visual Art & Sculpture
Time: 15:00–17:00
Website: https://www.saskianeumangallery.com
Sign up: Visit to Saskia Neuman Gallery
March 3
Visit to Stockholm School of Economics Art initiative
Art Initiativeembeds art in the academic environment of SSE to make the school even more knowledge intensive and to enrich the lives of students, faculty and staff. They work primarily with our permanent collection, screenings of video-based art and art talks and exhibitions by contemporary artists.
Time: 17:00–17:45
Focus: Teaching & Art
Format: Study visit
March 16
We will see a theatre performance Göra rätt together at Ö2 theatre (in Swedish) and explore how theatre can be used in teaching and education.
"Göra rätt" (Doing Right)
Venue: Ö2, Götgatan 73
Time: 18:30
Type: Theatre
More information: https://www.nortic.se/ticket/event/75858
Limited spaces: Sign up link
March 18
Follow‑up discussion on “Göra rätt” theatre
Format: Online (Zoom)
Time: 16:00–17:00
Sign up link
April 23
"Deep Leap"
Deep Leap invites the audience into a choreographic soundscape where movement and sound merge into a sensual, constantly shifting atmosphere. With body-worn microphones and a responsive technical system that captures the dancers’ movements, the dancers modulate and generate the soundscape in real time.
Venue: Modern Dansteatern, Skeppsholmen
Time: 20:00–21:00
Type: Dance performance
More information:
Limited spaces: Sign up link
April 27 (Monday)
Follow‑up Discussion on “Deep Leap”
Format: Online (Zoom)
Time: 16:00–17:00
Sign up link
May 21
Home is where the HEarts is
Participants in the HEarts program present their own projects
Format: Internal KI project presentations
More information to come.
Note: Please let us know if you would like to present something.
Previous events
HEarts goes to the theatre
What can we gather from theatrical practice to enrich and evolve our own approaches to teaching and learning?
Our theatre event consisted of three parts.
- Pre-Zoom Session: "Performance Analysis"
This introductory session introduced the principles of performance analysis, rooted in semiotic theory. Within the theatrical realm, concepts such as text, scenography, costume/mask, choreography, lighting, sound, and the aesthetics of acting are of central importance. By adopting theatre’s analytical lens, we aimed to deepen our pedagogical reflections and practices. - Theatre Performance: Hela världens recept
We attended a live performance of Hela världens recept at Teater Galeasen at Skeppsholmen. - Post-Zoom Session: Reflections and Insights
We reconvened for a reflective discussion on the performance itself, methods of analysis, and what theatre might teach us about the art of teaching.
Public art and sculpture: Can it help us improve learning in healthcare education?
We visited Princess Estelle's Sculpture Park on Djurgården and were guided by the director herself, Dr Sara Sandström. Sandström was recently named the third most powerful person in the Swedish contemporary art scene and, together with HRH Prince Daniel, is the founder of this new sculpture park.
During the event, sculptures were analysed and an introduction was given to the six permanent works of art in the park, which were created by well-known contemporary international artists.
HEarts visits the GSA art gallery
During this meeting, we explored how contemporary painting and sculpture can inspire our teaching and our students' learning. Jonas Nordquist taught us the basics of image analysis when we visited the GSA Gallery.