Max Liljefors lecture: Art in Hospitals: Dreams and Reality

Max Liljefors is a professor of art history and visual studies at Lund University. His research is about how art and aesthetics can deepen our understanding of existential health and resilience. During 2023–25, he was a coordinator of Lund University’s interdiscplinary collaboration initiative Existential Resilience: Contemplation, Aesthetics, Compassion. He is the PI of the research project Art Worlds Apart (Swedish Research Council 2022–2026) about the integration of medical and humanistic perspectives on art. He has developed courses for healthcare staff in using the arts, in Sweden and within EUGLOH (European University Alliance for Global Health). He is a fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and of the Academy’s Health Committee.