Painted Steel Beams Inspire Hope at SPEROS FL Proton Center
The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Proton Center will open at Moffitt’s new outpatient facility SPEROS FL in 2026. With construction on track, two special steel beams, painted through a community art project, will become part of the facility’s final structure. Although the beams will only be visible to staff, they will serve as a silent reminder of hope for all who enter the new center.
The message each beam holds was created by Jessica Halferty and Kristin Beauvois, two artists in residence with Moffitt’s Arts in Medicine Program, which provides healing art and music at the cancer center.
Halferty and Beauvois both fell in love with art at an early age and have maintained a desire to help others, which ultimately led them to their roles at Moffitt.
They work with patients and caregivers who visit the Arts in Medicine Studio at Moffitt’s Magnolia and McKinley Campuses. They also visit patient rooms with art kits, bringing a piece of the studio directly to the patient’s location in the hospital.
“I love inspiring people to feel confident enough to create,” Beauvois said. “The artwork doesn’t need to be a masterpiece — instead it’s about the process of creating. Simply engaging in a creative practice and allowing oneself to unwind can be profoundly rewarding and healing.”
Artists in residence at Moffitt also work with staff members, whether they play music for them in the lobby or hold an art workshop for a specific department within the hospital.
“Our health care workers have to face a lot every day. They try their best not to take in a lot of what they are experiencing, so having a moment for them to be able to reset is so important,” Halferty said.
The two artists say they took inspiration from moments they have shared with patients, caregivers and staff members, and channeled those feelings into the artwork they created on each beam.
“I approached the concept with a spirit of openness,” Beauvois said. “My aim was to create something vibrant and whimsical — an invitation for joy that encourages others to engage with it in their own unique way.”
Every patient, caregiver and team member Halferty and Beauvois have interacted with at Moffitt has had a personal journey that led them to this point.
Whether a patient is hoping for a positive outcome to their treatment, a staff member is hoping to make a meaningful impact or a caregiver is anxiously hoping that their loved one’s treatment will go well, Halferty and Beauvois wanted the painted beams to serve as a reminder that everyone has something that they are holding on to hope for.
“Anyone who views a piece of art like this can really put their own personal meaning behind it, which is what makes art so special,” Halferty said.
