NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull Unveils a New Community Mural by Brooklyn-Based Artist Imani Shanklin Roberts Entitled Through Healing We Unite

Press release

New Mural is part of the largest mural project in any public hospital system since the Works Progress Administration of the 1930s

Community paint party to create Through Healing We Unite at Woodhull Hospital

THURSDAY October 8, 2020 at 3 p.m., NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull and the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund will unveil the hospital’s new community mural, entitled Through Healing We Unite. This unveiling is one of ten in 2020, and continues the rollout of community murals at NYC Health + Hospital locations throughout New York’s five boroughs.

The mural concept was developed by artist Imani Roberts through a series of virtual focus groups with community members, staff and patients, and painted by patients, staff, elected officials and local residents. The Community Murals Project is a flagship component of NYC Health + Hospitals’ Arts in Medicine program, made possible through the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund and the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City.

The Community Murals Project is designed to encourage creativity, lower stress, build trust and increase engagement between hospitals and members of their surrounding communities. The murals also create spaces for joy as well as healing for patients and frontline medical workers who have been under enormous stress during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Arts in Medicine program at NYC Health + Hospitals seeks to foster the emotional well-being, the promotion of healing, wellness, and engagement of patients, families, employees, and the greater health system’s community by integrating all disciples of the arts such as literary, visual and performing arts throughout the public hospital system.

WHERE:

NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull
760 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11206
(Exterior of building facing Flushing Avenue)

WHEN:

Thursday, October 8, 2020 at 3:00 p.m.

WHO:

Imani Shanklin Roberts, mural artist, Brooklyn-based

Gregory Calliste, Chief Executive Officer, NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull

Eric Wei, MD, MBA, Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals, and Chair of the Art Advisory Council

Laurie Tisch, Founder and President, Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund

Rick Luftglass, Executive Director, Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund

Elected Officials expected to attend:

Julia Salazar, New York State Senator

Antonio Reynoso, New York City Councilman

Mathieu Eugene, New York City Councilman

Maritza Davila, New York State Assemblywoman

WHY:

Physician and healthcare worker burnout is a national health crisis, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic when hospital workers have had to work long hours isolated from their families and patients are dying in unprecedented numbers. Decades of research have shown that the arts can play a significant role in “healing the healers”, as well as improving patient outcomes and forging community awareness and partnerships.

Artist Statement

Through Healing, We Unite captures the balance of both care workers and patients to cultivate healing. Woodhull wishes to honor the support of its community in this visual offering. The perseverance and resilience of the hospital and its practitioners were founded on the pillars of strength and power that the surrounding community emits. This mural stands as a symbol of gratitude, trust, and devoted collaboration. Both inside and outside of the walls of Woodhull through healing, we unite!

For More Information Contact

Jan Rothschild, Finn Partners 215-983-2157
Louisa Baxley, Finn Partners 862-812-9042
Michelle Hernandez, Woodhull Hospital 929-505-3911

About the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund

The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund is a New York City-based foundation that strives to improve access and opportunity for all New Yorkers and foster healthy and vibrant communities. Founded in 2007 by philanthropist Laurie M. Tisch, the Illumination Fund plays an active role in supporting innovative approaches across a range of issues—increasing access to healthy food, building healthy communities, supporting economic opportunity and ensuring that arts and arts education are accessible to all. In 2018, the Illumination Fund launched Arts in Health, a $10-million-dollar, multi-year initiative to support organizations working on health issues that impact New York communities and that emphasize the arts as a tool for healing and building understanding. The areas of focus include addressing mental health stigma, trauma, and aging-related diseases. For more information, visit www.lmtif.org or follow @LMTischFund on Twitter.

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 42,000 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 at https://www.facebook.com/NYCHealthSystem or Twitter at @NYCHealthSystem.