The Hospital of Emotions is a series of site-specific art installations inside a decommissioned hospital in LA’s Westlake neighborhood. Each section focuses on an emotion you might feel in a hospital environment like sadness, hope, or fear, with a team of artists turning those feelings into their own unique installations.
Their website sums it all up:
One of the most unique aspects of the project is the building itself. A place that until recently functioned as a hospital – a space of care, vulnerability, and human stories – is temporarily transformed into a large-scale pop-up exhibition.
Artists work with the existing architecture, corridors, rooms, and traces of the building’s past, turning the hospital into a surreal and powerful artistic landscape.
In this exhibition, the building is not just a location – it becomes an essential part of the artwork itself.
Through this transformation, the exhibition creates a rare encounter between art, space, and emotion.
Personally I like the idea more than the core execution. Because the rooms vary so much from one to the next it’s difficult to judge overall. But the concept of taking care of your mental health in a hospital is an important one — no matter why you’re in a hospital, you may find that when you leave, you’re not exactly the same person you were as when you entered. The Hospital of Emotions presents that concept through artistic visual abstractions, making it easier to digest.
On that note, I noticed a lot of people had brought young kids to the exhibit — which makes sense. Hospitals can be a jarring environment for the young. Maybe they’ll be in a hospital soon due to their own illness, or to see a dying relative, or because they’ll be getting a new sibling soon.
I do take some issue with their use of the word “immersive” to describe the Hospital of Emotions. Aside from the location there’s no particular immersion; only a handful of the rooms have any type of interactive elements, and there’s no overarching story or puzzle to solve.
There is one activity — filling out a stamp card, somewhat akin to a passport as you pass through each area of the hospital. I was having a tough time trying to figure out which stamp was supposed to go where, but I kept bumping into a little girl who was in the same boat and we figured it out together.
My recommendation: If this interests you, go while it’s still available as it will only be around for months, not years. I’d strongly recommend grabbing tickets for off-peak times (weekdays, etc.) to avoid the crowds. Also, be mindful of your surroundings in the Westlake area, it’s similar to Skid Row.
