10 things to know about Hawaiʻi's physician artists who are redefining what it means to heal

Yahoo

07-04-2025

HONOLULU (KHON2) — At the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), there is a new addition to the great lawn. It's an art space unlike any other.
The Ko Iki Mini Museum was created by Dr. Kathryn Ko, a nationally renowned neurosurgeon who is the Chief of Metro Neurosurgery in New York City. She is also artist. Dr. Ko brings a fresh perspective to how art can intersect with the world of medicine.
Dr. Ko is a JABSOM alumna; and she founded the museum to make art more accessible to everyone, especially those in the medical field.
The Ko Iki Mini Museum is a small, accessible art space located on the JABSOM campus in Kakaʻako. Created by Dr. Ko, the museum brings art directly to the community. It's been especially healing for those in the medical field.
It draws inspiration from the free petite library movement as a way of making art available to everyone who passes by.
'I think art should be free and accessible to all,' Dr. Ko said. 'Sometimes people get intimidated going into a museum, so my idea was to bring the museum to them.'
Situated on the great lawn of JABSOM, the museum provides a stress-free environment where medical students, faculty and the public can engage with art. It offers a moment of respite that allows people to take a break from their rigorous routines and find inspiration.
After graduating from JABSOM, Dr. Ko completed her residency at Mount Sinai in New York City and nurtured her passion for painting alongside her medical career.
'Art was fundamentally important to making my neurosurgery career,' Dr. Ko said. 'It enriched it, and I was able to go from the operating room to the art studio, from the scalpel to the brush.'
The museum features rotating exhibits, and the current one is showcasing 11 miniature paintings created by Dr. Ko herself. One standout piece highlights the precision of a surgeon's work, particularly the act of closing a wound with staples. It is said to symbolize both the healing process and the sacredness of surgery.
'When you hold a scalpel, it's sacred,' Dr. Ko explained. 'Every step you make as a surgeon, you cannot take your eye off it. The closing of the wound with staples signifies the end of a successful operation.'
The museum operates like a small gallery. It displays rotating exhibits every six weeks. Themes alternate between art and science to provide a platform for both artists and medical professionals to express their creativity.
Dr. Ko hopes to engage everyone in the medical environment — researchers, clinicians, groundskeepers and students — in the creative process. The museum also features a Ko Iki Kiosk, that offers free art supplies and mini canvases for anyone who wants to create and contribute art.The museum encourages everyone to participate in the creative process. Visitors can take blank canvases and art supplies from the Ko Iki Kiosk at the Health Sciences Library, create their own artwork and return it for display.
The artwork will then be offered for adoption in order to continue the cycle of inspiration.
'We want people to take art to their home or office and hopefully get some inspiration,' Dr. Ko said.
Dr. Ko believes that art plays a vital role in the medical field. It helped her process the emotional and mental challenges of neurosurgery and allowed her to express her feelings in ways that weren't possible in the hospital.
'Art continues the story from the operating theater into the studio,' she explained. 'Through my art, I've been able to express my concern, care, and feelings in a way that I'm not able to talk about in the hospital setting.'
Dr. Ko designed the Ko Iki Mini Museum to be a creative respite for medical students. The museum allows them to step outside their rigorous studies and engage with art and helps to maintain their humanity and creativity during their demanding careers.
'My aim is to keep creativity alive while you are in this rigorous, strenuous process and pathway to becoming a doctor,' Dr. Ko said.
Dr. Ko envisions the Ko Iki Mini Museum inspiring other medical schools across the country to create similar spaces. Her hope is that small ideas, like the Ko Iki, can lead to big dreams and innovations.
'Small ideas and mini museums can lead to big careers, big ideas, and big dreams,' Dr. Ko said.
JABSOM Interim Dean Lee Buenconsejo-Lum praised Dr. Ko's work and emphasized the importance of humanism in medicine.
Get news on the go with KHON 2GO, KHON's morning podcast, every morning at 8
'Art allows us to reflect on the different experiences that our medical students or physicians go through. That pause is significant to maintaining humanity in medicine,' he said.
You can click to learn more.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.