The project, supported by the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, is believed to be the USA’s largest public hospital mural programme 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 latest mural design, ‘We Are Kings’, at NYC Health + Hospitals / Kings County, was developed by artist Jodi Dareal through a series of focus groups with community members, staff and patients, and it was created at a paint party where the community was invited to paint the mural together. The nine new murals will build on 26 murals created in the first wave of the Community Mural Project and which feature in a new book, Healing Walls: New York City Health + Hospitals Community Mural Project 2019-2021.

The ‘We Are Kings’ mural was inspired by the commitment to care for the Kings County community.

At the centre of the mural stands the behavioural health building as a beacon of hope. At the foot of the stairs are healthcare workers welcoming all who enter. The workers represent just a few of the many roles at Kings County, highlighting the equal value of each and every role in the hospital and signalling that the entire community is there to support the healing process. Surrounding the building are individual and collective acts of care, including helping someone to stand on their own, tending to a healing garden, or a simple hand on a shoulder. At the bottom is a string of beads highlighting the colours of Caribbean cultures, reflecting the rich diaspora of the Caribbean that makes up the surrounding neighbourhood of Flatbush.

“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.

“The Community Mural Project is one of the cornerstone arts programmes 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 stimulate creativity, reduce stigma, relieve stress, and strengthen the bonds between healthcare workers, patients and the community. We’re enormously proud to support this project and happy to see this extraordinary new mural at Kings.” 

NYC Health + Hospitals’ assistant vice-president of arts in medicine, Larissa Trinder, reflected: “Connecting meaningfully with our communities is a critical part of the work of Arts in Medicine. Research reinforces the positive impact large-scale collaborative projects, like the Community Mural programme, have on our public health. Jodi’s combined perspective presents a powerful vision of who and what the Kings family represent.”

Chantal Georges, director of mental health of the Therapeutic Rehabilitation Department at NYC Health + Hospitals / Kings County, commented: “In this project, we united as a diverse community, collaborating with various stakeholders to celebrate the vibrant culture of Kings County. Together, we brainstormed, shared stories, and understood our shared mission to create the ‘We Are Kings’ community mural.”

An artist, songwriter and video producer, 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’s in the style of pop art and comic book realism.

She described the process of painting the mural as an honour and an amazing experience. “We wanted the mural to reflect the culture of the staff and the patients,” she said. “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 creates opportunities for hospital staff to collaborate with each other and with neighbours, relieve stress, and enhance the physical environment of the facilities.