Beyond the Diagnosis | Arkansas Children's

Beyond the Diagnosis Logo. We are proud to host the Beyond the Diagnosis art exhibit at Arkansas Children’s Northwest in Springdale, Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock and in partnership with Thea Foundation in North Little Rock. This exhibit features an inspiring collection of portraits of children with rare disease diagnoses and is in Arkansas for a limited time. It will be open to the public at the following locations:

Gallery at Arkansas Children’s Northwest in Springdale
2601 Gene George Blvd., Springdale, AR 72762
Experience 40 original breathtaking portraits
September 20 – September 29 (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.)
Enter through the main hospital entrance and bring your government issued ID

Gallery at Thea Foundation in North Little Rock
401 N. Main Street, North Little Rock, AR 72114
Experience 40 original breathtaking portraits
October 9 – October 26 (Monday – Thursday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., or by appointment)

Featured Collection at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock
1 Children’s Way, Little Rock, AR 72202
View a collection of 7 reproductions
October 2 – October 27
Enter through the main hospital entrance and bring your government issued ID

"It's not what you look at that matters. It's what you see." - Henry David Thoreau

About Beyond the Diagnosis

Beyond the Diagnosis unites art and science to inspire research and innovation of treatments for people living with rare and neglected diseases. There are 7,000 rare diseases. Rare diseases became known as orphan diseases because drug companies were not interested in adopting them to develop treatments. Less than 5% of all rare diseases have a treatment and sadly, none of them have a cure. Artists have donated their time and talents to paint rare disease patients for this groundbreaking exhibit. Each portrait represents a single orphan disease. Our goal is to put a face to all 7,000 rare diseases. This beautiful exhibit is traveling to medical schools, research institutes and hospitals around the globe encouraging the medical community to look “beyond the diagnosis” to the patient.

We are Proud to Feature Two Arkansas Children's Patients in the Exhibit

Matthew Lance

Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum

Artist: Diana Shearon

Matthew’s original portrait will be featured at Arkansas Children’s Northwest exhibit and the Thea Foundation Exhibit.

A reproduction of this portrait will be in the featured collection at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

Watch Matthew's Story

Kynnedi Sturges

Sickle Sell Anemia Type SS

Artist: Rex Deloney

Kynnedi’s original portrait will be featured at the Thea Foundation Exhibit.

A reproduction of this portrait will be in the featured collection at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

Watch Kynnedi's Video

Rare Disease Facts

In the United States, a condition is considered “rare” if it affects fewer than 200,000 persons combined in a particular rare disease group.

There are 7,000 types of rare diseases and disorders, with more being discovered each day
80% of rare diseases are genetic in origin, and thus are present throughout a person’s life, even if symptoms do not immediately appear
50% of people affected by rare disease are children
30% of rare children will not live to see their 5th birthday
350 million people worldwide suffer from rare diseases
95% of rare diseases have not one single FDA approved drug treatment
50% of rare diseases do not have a disease specific foundation supporting or researching their rare disease