NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur 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
Aug 16, 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, A Giving Hand at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur, was developed by artist Raul Ayala 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. A Giving Hand 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 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.
A Giving Hand is a tribute to the long lives, hopes, and shared solidarity among senior patients and health providers at Gouverneur. The collaborative design process involved movement explorations and brainstorming sessions, illuminating the diverse experiences of Gouverneur’s residents and staff. The sun in the right corner and a crescent moon on the left symbolize the passage of time and the continuity of care. During the design sessions, participants highlighted the importance of conveying a sense of home within the community, identifying water as a key element that evokes feelings of safety and comfort. The mural’s composition features a landscape populated by hands in welcoming gestures, surrounded by blooming flowers native to the participants’ places of origin. A welcoming message in different languages completes the artwork, further emphasizing a sense of inclusivity and belonging. The warm palette accentuates the care and love within the community, while also highlighting the diversity and sense of belonging that defines Gouverneur. A Giving Hand stands as a colorful reminder of the power of solidarity, health, and the enduring connections that unite us all.
“As a skilled nursing and community health center, Gouverneur provides vital services to its patients and residents,” said Rick Luftglass, executive director of the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund. “Decades of research have shown that the arts are a powerful tool in healing and improving wellbeing. This is certainly on display in Raul Ayala’s beautiful mural, A Giving Hand, which creates a welcoming, warm and comforting atmosphere for visitors and patients alike. We are proud to have helped make it possible.”
“Developing an arts-based approach for our creative aging populations has been an increasingly important focus for the Arts in Medicine department,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Assistant Vice President of Arts in Medicine Larissa Trinder. “Our community mural artist, Raul Ayala’s mural, A Giving Hand, is a perfect exemplar of how civic engagement activities can bring people together and celebrate their journey. This further establishes a culture for joy, and love and shared experience. Ayala’s use of hands in the final image is a powerful reminder of inclusivity and the importance of true connection. We are grateful to our artist and all of the participants at Gouverneur who brought this project to fruition.”
“The Gouverneur community mural was truly an effort supported by the many individuals who are engaged at Gouverneur, nursing home residents, employees from both the Skilled Nursing Facility and Gotham Health, and friends of Gouverneur,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur Chief Executive Officer Susan Sales, MPA, FACHE, LNHA. “The resulting work captures those we serve of various abilities, cultures, and languages, and this community mural is a true representation of our diversity and a welcoming, beautiful addition to our main lobby.”
“Murals are healing,” said artist Raul Ayala. “Through this collaborative process with the residents and staff, it was clear how connection is crucial for wellbeing. The flowers reflect the beautiful moments of sharing that happened between participants. I am grateful for everyone for allowing themselves to present and vulnerable throughout the process.”
Raul Ayala (@raulayalart) is a Brooklyn-based visual artist and educator specializing in mural production, drawing, and public art. With over 15 years of experience, he has created large-scale murals in New York and Latin America, infusing his work with a commitment to community engagement and social justice. His murals act as healing spaces for diverse communities, offering visual affirmations and fostering a sense of belonging. He holds a Master of Fine Art degree from Rutgers University and currently teaches Drawing at Rutgers University Newark Campus.
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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About NYC Health + Hospitals/Post-Acute Care
NYC Health + Hospitals Post-Acute Care is comprised of five skilled nursing facilities (SNF), a long-term acute care hospital (LTACH) and adult day healthcare program. There is a total of 2,099 inpatient beds in the SNFs and LTACH. Carter, Coler, Gouverneur, McKinney, and Seaview have all consistently earned Four- & Five-Star Ratings awarded by CMS. In addition, Carter, Gouverneur, McKinney and Seaview have been recognized by US News & World Report as one of the Best Nursing Homes in 2024 for long-term care and short-term rehabilitation; Newsweek ranks Carter, Coler, Gouverneur, and Sea View in the Top 10 of Best Nursing Homes 2024 in New York State; McKinney ranked in the Top 30. For more information, visit https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/postacutecare.
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.