NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx Unveils New Community Mural

NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx Unveils New Community Mural

The Community Mural Project is believed to be the country's largest public hospital mural program since the 1930s

Seven new murals will be created this year across the health system

Jul 01, 2024

NYC Health + Hospitals today unveiled a new mural as part of the Community Mural Project run by the health system's Arts in Medicine department. The mural, Waves of Healing at NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx, was developed by artist Sophia Victor through a series of focus groups with community members, staff and patients and brought to life at a paint party where the community was invited to paint the mural together. Waves of Healing is one of 7 new murals that will be created this year, adding to 37 murals created at NYC Health + Hospitals since 2019. The first wave of the Community Mural Project is featured in a new book, Healing Walls: New York City Health + Hospitals Community Mural Project 2019-2021. This and other murals at NYC Health + Hospitals can be viewed on the free Bloomberg Connects app. The Community Mural Project is made possible through the support of the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund.

Waves of Healing represents the loving care staff strive to give to patients, families, and each other. At its focal point, seven figures rise from two hands that reach toward each other, representing the loving care at the foundation of the hospital. The bed of vibrant flowers illustrates joy, inclusivity, and the importance of nature in healing, while the sun represents hope and light. Colorful birds encircle the figures providing a soothing moment. Flowing and rising from the center are healing waves and clouds that welcome the community and represent the connections within the hospital's community. Care is illustrated by the gestures and expressions of each of the caregivers: a smiling doctor listens to an infant's heartbeat, a physician bows her head and smiles towards a child, and a nurse places a smiling figure listening to an elder. The portrayal of staff providing service to patients tenderly symbolizes the strength of collaboration in supporting each other.

"NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx is a vital health anchor for the Bronx community," said Laurie Tisch, founder and president of the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund. "There are decades of research showing that engaging in the arts has a positive impact on health. Sophia Victor's Waves of Healing is a joyful, beautiful addition to the hospital that will be a source of pride and enjoyed by staff, patients, and all who enter the facility. It is a testament to the love and care patients receive at North Central Bronx, and we are proud to have helped make it possible."

"Sophia Victor's mural, Waves of Healing, illuminates Arts in Medicine's health justice strategy by highlighting the important work of our staff and the way they care for our patients and families and one another," said NYC Health + Hospitals Assistant Vice President of Arts in MedicineLarissa Trinder. "This beautiful mural's tender depictions of our staff engaging in their work will be a permanent reflection of the shared experience of healthcare workers and remind them how cherished they are every day."

"We take tremendous pride in ensuring that our facility reflects our dedication to person-centered excellence," said NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi and North Central Bronx Chief Executive Officer Christopher Mastromano. "Our beautiful community mural is visually captivating and creates a warm, holistic environment. Our patients and staff will be inspired by the vibrant colors and themes representing our diverse staff and patient population in our Bronx communities."

"This mural has truly been an enjoyable and collaborative experience," said artist Sophia Victor. "It has been an honor to work with the North Central Bronx staff and to guide them through a fast and intimate design process. I feel grateful that this work will live in a place where it is appreciated and will inspire so many. I thank God for the opportunity."

Sophia Victor (@iamwetpaint) is a multidisciplinary artist and muralist from Brooklyn. She is a first-generation American raised by Jamaican parents. Victor's practice employs both ministry, activism, facilitation and art therapy with a focus on service to people as a major component of her creative practice. With narratives of living history, her portraits highlight the human aspect of social injustice through her personal connection and communication with the subjects in her work. Her practice synthesizes painting, public art, installation, interventions, video and performance art, including roller disco skating. Her layered, richly colored and cultured compositions embrace the beauty, the struggle, and the perseverance of different black experiences.

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.

The Community Mural Project creates opportunities for hospital staff to collaborate with each other and with neighbors, relieve stress, and enhance the physical environment of the facilities. Healthcare worker burnout is a national health crisis, and the continuing COVID-19 pandemic has created mental health challenges across New York City, especially in low-income, immigrant and historically excluded communities, which are significant patient populations for NYC Health + Hospitals.

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AboutNYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx
NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx (NCB) is a member facility of the New York City Health + Hospitals system, one of eleven acute care facilities within the City of New York. A 215-bed community hospital, NCB specializes in women's and children's services. It also provides Behavioral Health acute and ambulatory care. Its busy outpatient department has led the way in community-based care delivered in a compassionate and culturally-appropriate manner. Its Labor and Delivery service safely brings more than 1,000 babies into the world each year. NCB is committed to providing safe, high-quality medical care for any and all in need. For more information visit https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/northcentralbronx.

About NYC Health + Hospitals' Arts in Medicine Department
The Arts in Medicine department at NYC Health + Hospitals seeks to foster the emotional well-being and promote healing and wellness for all patients and their families, employees, and the greater community by utilizing the arts, including literary, visual, and performing arts throughout the health care system. In addition to managing the system's significant visual arts collection, the Arts in Medicine department encourages evidenced based practices and provides technical assistance to all of the system's health care facilities and clinics. This is accomplished by combining artistic innovation and education into a comprehensive health care continuum that supports the healing benefits of the arts. For more information, visit https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/artsinmedicine/.

About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city's five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system's trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan-all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund
The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund is a New York City-based foundation that aims to improve access and opportunity for all New Yorkers and foster healthy and vibrant communities. In 2018, the Illumination Fund launched Arts in Health, a multi-year initiative to support organizations utilizing the arts as a tool for healing and building understanding in communities across New York City. The initiative's areas of focus are stigma, trauma and aging-related diseases as well as supporting organizations addressing mental health in communities disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2019 the Illumination Fund supported the creation of NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine department, expanding programs serving health care staff, patients, and communities in sites across the City. For more information, visit www.lmtif.org or follow @LMTischFund on Twitter.

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