The Daniel and Pamella DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health (DCIH) is a five-story, 166,000 sq. ft. health center on GVSU's Health Campus in downtown Grand Rapids. Opened in May 2021, DCIH is the third GVSU building on Grand Rapids'  Medical Mile, joining the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences and Raleigh J. Finkelstein Hall. DCIH is home to Kirkhof College of Nursing, College of Health Professions, and School of Computing. It features more than 400 works of art, selected with intention to enhance and support interprofessional team environments and encourage cross-disciplinary innovation and collaboration. 

View all the artwork in DCIH in the Art Collection database.

View a tour of DCIH.

Health Sciences and School of Computing

The artwork in this building supports these programs by representing and reinforcing their core values; those of equity, empathy, life-long learning, collaboration and innovation, and the inter-connectedness of the health sciences fields.

For example, upon entering the first level you'll notice a large lithograph, "When I Was You" by Maria Tomasula (pictured below), depicting an iris stitched together and suspended by red thread. This image reflects the beautiful, yet fragile nature of our physical and mental health. 

Around the corner you'll find seven linocut prints by El Ronan (pictured below). These pieces depict an increasing number of magpies circling around each other; one in the first, two in the second, and so on. Ronan's subjects and compositions hint at the process of coding and decoding, in this way she engages symbolism as an entry-point to understanding her art and as a result her work communicates meaningfully to a variety of audiences.

Photographer Larry Hales provides an intimate look into the experience of meditation with his work "EMANATIONS: Meditation in America at the Millennium" (pictured below). This large photo collage can be found on level four of DCIH near the KCON Dean's office suite. It's tucked inside a quiet, reflective space and encourages the viewer to consider the practice mindfulness. GVSU's health sciences emphasize the importance of a holistic approach to health care, including a focus on the connection between mind and body. More information coming soon about each person photographed for "EMANATIONS: Meditation in America at the Millennium"!

Equity, Access, and Representation

DCIH features extensive common spaces that foster collaborative learning experiences. One example is the Frey Foundation Learning Commons, part of University Libraries. This space exhibits a manifold of images created by KOS/Tim Rollins titled "Amerika". KOS refers to the NYC after school arts program lead by Tim Rollins in the 1990s called Kids of Survival. KOS focused on literacy, accessibility, and social justice through creative practices.

In the Frey Foundation Reading Room you'll see photographs from the series "1,679 Days... and Counting," by Valerie Wojo. Wojo, GVSU class of '19, produced this documentary series for her senior thesis in Photography, part of GVSU's Visual and Media Arts program. Her series shares the untold stories of six Flint, MI residents and their struggles as a result of the Flint Water Crisis. 

Throughout DCIH are posters from the "Celebrate People's History" project. These posters are rooted in the do-it-yourself tradition of mass-produced political propaganda. In contrast to propaganda imagery, the Celebrate People's History posters embody themes of inclusion, community, and a do-it-together approach to producing content and imagery. These posters tell the stories of underdogs, those individuals and groups helping to move forward the collective struggle of humanity to create a more just world. This on-going project is organized and curated by Josh MacPhee. For twenty years, over 130 different posters have been displayed on the streets of more that a dozen cities representing over 150 artists and writers. In Fall 2020, the GVSU Art Gallery hosted an exhibition of 117 Celebrate People's History posters and are now part of the GVSU permanent art collection, on view in multiple campus buildings. 

Also on display are GVSU alum Kate Malburg's collaborative photographic portraits of teenagers from Muskegon, MI. These images were first exhibited in a show organized by nonprofit Community enCompass' Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) after Malburg's internship there. The photographs are both complex and straight-forward. They spark questions of social criticism, teen homelessness, racism, and mental health. For Malburg, GVSU class of '19, the main goal of her internship project was to give local teens a voice and a platform to express their concerns. 

Just outside the Frey Foundation Learning Commons are two acrylic paintings by artist Rosie Lee (Marcello Pope). These paintings, titled "Barbershop Talk" and "Corner Store" highlight the history and culture of Black communities and neighborhood institutions. To learn more about Rosie Lee and his creative process visit gvsu.edu/artgallery/rosieleeinterview.

Art Selection Process

The GVSU Art Gallery formed advisory committees to discuss the type of artwork that would relate to and support the academic programs in DCIH. The committees included representatives from Kirkhof College of Nursing, College of Health Professions, and School of Computing. Additionally, representatives from the Office of the President, Office of the Provost, Dean of University Libraries, and Facilities Planning participated. Through discovery meetings and discussions, committee members identified core themes and concepts desirable in the artwork in DCIH. Those themes and concepts are collected in the word cloud pictured here. This word cloud became a touch-stone in the process of selecting art; ensuring that all works of art in DCIH uphold these core values. 

Additional support was provided by sub-committees; one comprised of GVSU Art Gallery staff and another of University Development staff. Through the involvement of University Development, two significant works of art were acquired by the GVSU art collection; Dale Chihuly's "Lake Blue and Opaline Persian Chandelier," and Jo Hormuth's "The Big Picture (Sestina)," both on level one of DCIH inside the massive two-story study commons.