Two Bronx NYC Health + Hospitals are about to get a new splash of color, as several artists across the city will create 20 new murals for the NYC Health + Hospitals’ Arts in Medicine program, the largest public art collection in the city with more than 7,000 pieces of artwork.
Of the 130 applicants considered by the health system, Dister Rondon and Roy Secord were selected to create a mural for Lincoln Hospital and North Central Bronx Hospital locations, respectively. In total 10 artists have been selected for the project, including a Bronx-based artist Tijay Mohammed, who is designing a mural for Harlem Hospital Center.
The new murals are a part of the next wave of art projects for the NYC Health + Hospitals’ Community Mural Project, which launched in 2019 and had 26 murals highlighted in Healing Walls: New York City Health + Hospitals Community Mural Project 2019-2021.
Last month, NYC Health + Hospitals received a $3 million donation from the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund to expand the health system’s Arts in Medicine program. The artists will design the murals through focus groups with patients, staff and neighborhood residents, followed by community “paint parties” to create the mural, according to the health system.
The health system’s public art collection includes historic murals commissioned through the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s, paintings, mosaics, photographs, sculptures, installation art and murals.
The pretense of art in hospitals, according to studies and city health officials, can reduce feelings of anxiety amongst patients. The artwork is also designed to alleviate the city’s health care workers experiencing burnout from a marathon pandemic and those working in low-income communities, which the health system states is the bulk of their patient populations.
“Murals provide an immersive experience that directly contribute to the overall health for the people around them,” said Larissa Trinder, assistant vice president of Arts in Medicine at NYC Health + Hospitals. “In healthcare, research has shown that a person’s physical environment is important by providing a soothing and calming experience that correlates with better health outcomes. The Arts in Medicine community mural artists install joyful, bright and hopeful murals as an additional avenue to support public health.”
In 2020, a community-based mural titled “Formation of Abundance” by Mexican artist Arantxa Rodriguez was created for Lincoln Hospital.
Reach Robbie Sequeira at rsequeira@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-4599. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
