The mission of University Health is to improve the good health of the community through high quality compassionate patient care, innovation, education and discovery.
We are leading the way to be one of the nation's most trusted health institutions. The Women's & Children's Hospital will provide much-needed facilities to meet the needs of our growing community and region.
- High quality and compassionate above all,
- Attentive, kind and helpful without exception, and
- Wise in the use of resources.
The vision of University Health's Salud-Arte: Art of Healing program is to use art to inspire healing, compassion, hope and trust. We also aim to reflect the community, improve the experience of our patients and visitors, and communicate our important mission through art and design enhancements while being good stewards of our financial and natural resources.
“Thank you to all our artist applicants for the public art calls for Phase II. We are in the midst of reviewing all of them and getting approvals from our University Health leadership. Winner announcements will be posted here on this platform as they are approved. We are hopeful all will be determined by September 1, 2025. Our call for art procurement will remain open until September 15th, 2025, midnight, CST.
We appreciate for your patience and support of the SaludArte: Art of Healing Program at University Health.”
Phase II Public Art Call Finalists
It is with pleasure to announce the four finalists for the exterior Retama Hospital exterior sculpture call, which closed March 15th, 2025.
Finalists are:
Re-site, Houston, Texas
Shane Allbritton
Norman Lee
Wanderlust Ironworks, San Antonio, Texas
Autumn Saleh
Simon Saleh
Volkan Alkanoglu
Portland, Oregon
George Schroeder
San Antonio, Texas
All other Phase II, site-specific awards will be announced in coming weeks, on this platform. Please do not directly contact University Health for updates or feedback.
Thank all of you who applied and please note our University Health, Phase III art procurement call remains open until September 15, 2025.
We greatly appreciate your sharing your work with us and supporting the SaludArte: Art of Healing program at University Health.
Allison Hays Lane
Executive Curator
Art of Healing Phase I, Design Enhancement for upcoming Capital Improvement Projects, 2026.
Selected artists are:
Retama Community Hospital and Medical Office Building:
Katharine Harvey
Shuli Sade
Palo Alto Community Hospital and Medical Offices:
Sabra Booth
Martin Donlin
Vida Public Health Building:
Louis Vega Trevino
Monika Bravo
Wheatley Public Health Building:
Community Outreach Mural and Design Project selected and artists will be students and members from the Eastside community. To be finalized in early 2025.
Open University Health Calls
University Health, 2026 Capital Improvement, Community Hospitals and Public Health Clinics, Phase III, Art Procurement, San Antonio, TX |
Design Planning and Environmental Cues PDFs
**Please note: Palo Alto & VIDA share the same visual cues.
Press Release
SAN ANTONIO, Texas August 28, 2024 - University Health wants to fill two new hospitals and two multi-specialty clinics with art that brings the vibrant spirit of the South Texas outdoors into each building's healing environment. Artists will have the chance to participate in the award-winning SaludArte: Art of Healing program through three public art calls and five open house events starting September 4.
The SaludArte: Art of Healing program uses art to inspire healing, compassion, hope and trust. With the 2024-2025 public art call, we seek to celebrate the rich and varied flora and fauna of South Texas through a diverse array of artistic expression. The call for submissions is open to all forms of artwork, including paintings, drawings, photography, sculptures and mixed media. Each piece should reflect the natural beauty and ecological diversity of the South Texas landscape.
Site-specific creative opportunities
San Antonio is on an ecological crossroads and the two new hospitals each sit in different zones, with its own unique landscape and heritage. The University Health Palo Alto Hospital's art will reflect the San Antonio missions and their agricultural and cultural heritage, while the University Health Retama Hospital art will speak of ranching, cowboys and horses.
Artists are encouraged to submit works that explore the theme of flora and fauna, highlighting the distinctive plants, animals and ecosystems native to South Texas. This theme will help create a cohesive and engaging atmosphere throughout the new hospital spaces, providing comfort and inspiration for patients, families and health care professionals alike.
Art contributes to healing and positive experiences
"We witness it every day. Art has the power to inspire healing and create a welcoming environment for our patients and the community," said Allison Hays Lane, executive curator at University Health. "With the SaludArte: Art of Healing program, we are excited to incorporate new artistic talent into our facilities, making our community hospitals not just places of healing, but also vibrant spaces that reflect the unique character of our region."
Building artwork into a well-designed, evidenced-based health care structure encourages hope, positive distraction, faster healing and less medication use for patients. The art supports staff by creating a regenerative environment in a potentially highly stressful work setting.
Art call submission details:
* Submission Periods:
- Design enhancement art call (Sept. 1, 2024 - Nov. 15, 2024);
- Public art for all sites art call (Sept. 1, 2024 - March 15, 2025); and
- Art procurement for all sites art call (Sept. 1, 2024 - Sept. 1, 2025)
* Open House Events: All events take place from 6-7 p.m.
- Sept. 4 - University Hospital, open house and tour, 4502 Medical Dr.
- Sept. 11 - Texas Diabetes Institute, 701 S. Zarzamora St.
- Sept. 18 - Northeast Lakeview College, STEM building, 1201 Kitty Hawk Rd., Paluxy 300, the Bluebonnet room
- Sept. 25 - Texas A&M University-San Antonio, One University Way
- Oct. 2 - Dr. Robert L.M. Hilliard Center, 919 Locke St.
Open to all artists, including local, national and international artists.
School groups, when registered with a teacher, are eligible to donate artwork to the program. University Health is excited to work with schools and encourages teachers to participate.
- Categories: Paintings, drawings, photography, sculptures, mixed-media and more
- Theme: Flora and fauna of South Texas
- Submission Guidelines: Artwork must be original. Artists selling or commissioned work must be 21 years or older to participate.
ABOUT UNIVERSITY HEALTH
University Health is the only locally owned health system in San Antonio. For more than 100 years, University Health has been here to heal, improve health, train the next generation of medical professionals and ensure the people of San Antonio, Bexar County and South Texas have access to primary and advanced specialty care close to home. Specialized services include the region's only Level I trauma center for both adults and children, and maternal and neonatal intensive care centers designated at the highest levels by the State of Texas. As the region's only academic health system, University Health is a hub of innovation and discovery, committed to delivering patient-centered, culturally competent, high-quality and compassionate care, based on a strong foundation of outcomes-based research and innovative teaching. Learn more at UniversityHealth.com
Information About Registering As A Vendor
University Health has partnered with Bonfire Interactive to create a new procurement portal that will allow you to register as a vendor to do business with University Health, receive notification for business opportunities, submit bids, and proposals digitally.
As of January 1, 2023, this will be the only digital site used for vendor registration, solicitations, and receiving proposals.
Watch the vendor registration how-to-video to learn how to create an account and complete registration.
This link will direct you to the registration and login page: https://universityhealth.bonfirehub.com. This is a new host, so, you must register through this portal.
Registration is easy and free. Please ensure vendor name registered in Bonfire coincides with W9 as you would report to the IRS. Be sure to select NAICS codes associated with your type of business or organization. Our solicitations will be set up using those codes that will be matched to vendors and contractors with same codes. If you answered yes to the question: Is your company a Certified Small Business Enterprise in Vendor information questionnaire tab, please upload a SMWBE Certification.
Should you have any questions regarding registration, please contact Procurement.Services@uhtx.com or call us at 210-358-9256.
Once you register and have been approved, you will be invited to participate in any current bid opportunities that match your company's commodities. You can also monitor the opportunities directly.
Allison Hays Lane
Executive Curator
University Health System
San Antonio, TX 78229