NYC Health + Hospitals has unveiled the first of nine new murals as part of their Community Mural Project, run by the health system’s Arts in Medicine department. The mural, “We Are Kings” in Kings County, was developed by artist Jodi Dareal and was brought to life at a paint party where the community was invited to paint the mural together.
"When we launched our Arts in Health initiative in 2018, one of our first partnerships was with the NYC Health + Hospitals system, whose mission, to serve everyone, no matter their circumstances, is so closely aligned with our own," said Laurie Tisch founder and president of the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, in a press release.
“The Community Mural Project is one of the cornerstone arts programs at NYC Health + Hospitals. Not only does it provide beautiful artworks to each of the hospitals, the collaborative process of planning and creating the murals helps to stimulate creativity, reduce stigma, relieve stress and strengthen the bonds between healthcare workers, patients and the community. We are enormously proud to support this project and happy to see this extraordinary new mural at Kings.”
Muralist Jodi Dareal, was born at NYC Health + Hospitals, Kings County and now lives in Staten Island. Her art focuses on diverse communities working together, important issues in the black community, and women’s rights, and it is in the style of pop art and comic book realism.
“It was an honor to paint this mural at my birthplace. Working with the patients and staff at Kings County Hospital has been an amazing experience,” said Community Mural Artist Jodi Dareal.
“They welcomed me with open arms. We met three times to discuss the mural design. We wanted the mural to reflect the culture of the staff and the patients. We also wanted the mural to be about unity to show the bond between patients and staff. Together we created something really beautiful for the hospital.”
The Community Mural Project is believed to be the country’s largest public hospital mural program since the 1930s, when the depression-era Works Progress Administration (WPA) commissioned murals in public buildings, including virtually every hospital in New York City’s public healthcare system.
The WPA murals were the start of NYC Health + Hospitals art collection, which now is the city’s largest public art collection and includes more than 7,000 pieces of art of multiple disciplines. The art collection is used to enhance the healthcare environment, inspire creativity, promote wellness, increase access to the arts, and engage staff.
