About Art in Ambulances

The Cultural Administration and AISAB run a unique collaborative project that has been ongoing since 2022. Applied artistic research and artistic design in ambulance vehicles are combined in an innovative project to explore how cultural expressions can be used in an ambulance vehicle with the aim of improving the vehicle's interior environment for both patients and staff.

Research shows that both sound and light affect the brain and heart and can have health-promoting effects. That is why we are investigating how artistic expression can be used in the limited spaces of ambulances.

A preliminary study highlighted the conditions for artistic intervention in ambulances, that is, how cultural expression can be used. Researchers and artists from different disciplines have joined the project.

In 2024–2025, calibration of the artistic expressions installed in a test vehicle is underway. Specially written music is recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The music helps the soundscape partially camouflage the sharp siren sound. Lighting design is another part of the project. Visual elements on walls, windows, and ceilings contribute to the environment, as well as tactile small sculptures that can have a distracting or activating effect on the patient. The project is currently focusing on preparations to implement the innovations in several ambulance vehicles operating in the greater Stockholm area.

The project is made possible through funding from the Region Stockholm Innovation Fund.

The artists and researchers involved in the project:

• Visual environment: Pia Sandström, artist
• Sound environment: Robin McGinley, Stockholm University, and Ricardo Atienza, Aalto University. Five specially written pieces are recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Stockholm Concert Hall.
• Lighting environment: Rodrigo Muro Avendano and Foteini Kyriakidou, KTH