Valerie A. Cooper, a Stamford entrepreneur who for 12 years has run a corporate art consulting firm, Picture That L.L.C., was named a “Woman Making an Impact” by the Fairfield County Business Journal”™s parent company, Westfair Communications, during an April Westchester County, N.Y., gala.
Recent business gains have been in the world of health care.
“The health care industry is currently our busiest and fastest-growing area as hospitals and other health care providers aggressively construct new facilities and undertake major renovations to meet the growing demands for, and changes in, the delivery of health care services,” she said.
It”™s a case of aesthetics meeting medicine that Cooper said works well.
“Hospital administrators recognize the important role art plays in the healing process,” she said. “Picture That”™s extensive portfolio of artwork includes paintings, works on paper, photography and sculpture that speak to diverse populations of constituents including ,patients, employees, visitors, shareholders and the community at large.”
Picture That”™s initial foray into Connecticut”™s health care market began in 2010 when it was retained as a primary art vendor for Yale New Haven Health System to outfit a new facility on the New Haven campus.
The company has since installed art in several facilities for the health system”™s network of affiliates, including Smilow Cancer Centers in New Haven and Guilford, and Bridgeport Hospital”™s Ahlbin Rehabilitation and Industrial Medical Centers.
Cooper said the health system art consulting projects, along with her affiliations with the Connecticut Hospital Association and the Great New England Minority Supplier Development Council, were catalysts for securing a contract with St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center”™s new technology and finance center in Hartford.
When renovations are complete in July for Saint Francis Hospital”™s five-floor, 57,753-square-foot facility, employees and visitors will see 72 works of art, including tranquil scenes of sunflowers and autumnal foliage, sunrises and sunsets, local and regional waterscapes, and current cityscapes as well as vintage photos from Hartford”™s past. An overarching theme is that reasoned thought has gone into the selections.
“It is designed to be a visually stimulating yet educationally attractive collection, whose mission is to reflect the culture, history and surroundings of St. Francis Hospital, an integral part of the Hartford community for more than 100 years,” Cooper said.
St. Francis Hospital nominated Cooper”™s company for the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council”™s Supplier of the Year Award.
Cooper”™s company is one of three nominees in the category based on similarly sized businesses. In making the nomination, Robert Falaguerra, vice president for facilities, support services and construction at St. Francis, noted: “Valerie and her firm did a splendid job evaluating the art and complying with our wishes while maintaining the established budget. It was a pleasure working with Valerie, who selected, framed and installed the art in our new building.”
The award winners will be announced at a ceremony May 6. But, for Cooper, getting the nomination for a significant-sized project and an endorsement from a leading health care provider like St. Francis Hospital will be very helpful in her strategic plan to increase market share in Connecticut and regionally in the burgeoning health care facilities market.
“This is a very exciting time,” she said, crediting an extensive team of art designers, art handlers, appraisers, restoration specialists and fine-art-trained technologists with whom she works.
Additionally, artwork by a diverse mix of established and emerging artists is used along with works by more-established artists.
