NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi Unveils New Community Mural

NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi 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

Dec 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, Healing for All at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi, was developed by artist Ebony Bolt 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. Healing for All is one of 7 new murals that will be created this year, adding to 43 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 Bloomberg Connects. The Community Mural Project is made possible through the support of the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund.

Healing for All stands as a tribute to the Jacobi community, honoring the endless dedication of healthcare workers. From healthcare workers performing various essential functions to community members like patients and caregivers, the mural offers a rich narrative of inclusion and support. Each figure, despite lacking facial features, powerfully conveys diversity in culture, gender, and age. Through thoughtful details in clothing, posture, and hair, the artist has created figures that resonate with a wide audience, inviting viewers to see themselves reflected in one or more of the characters. The presence of fruit throughout the mural serves as a visual reminder of the importance of food in sustaining good health, subtly encouraging viewers to consider the role of nutrition in their well-being. Accompanying the mural is an audio component featuring voices from the healthcare community. These recordings offer words of encouragement and share inspiring stories drawn from the daily lives of those who work at the hospital, adding an auditory layer to the mural's visual celebration of healing and community.

"Decades of research show that the arts are a powerful tool for healing and enhancing well-being," said Laurie Tisch, founder and president of the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund. "Jacobi is a vital healthcare facility serving a diverse population in the Bronx, and Ebony Bolt's stunning mural beautifully reflects that. Her work celebrates the richness of the community and the dedication of Jacobi's healthcare team, creating an inspiring and immersive experience for patients and visitors alike. We're proud to have helped make this possible."

"Through a series of focus groups, artist Ebony Bolt was able to conjure the spirit and vitality of the workforce at Jacobi Hospital," said NYC Health + Hospitals Assistant Vice President of Arts in Medicine Larissa Trinder. "The ambiguity in the faceless images allows the viewer to hold multiple interpretations that all celebrate this dynamic workforce and community. Arts in Medicine is honored to have this piece in the collection and as part of the HoME study, the first global study of how large-scale murals impact our health."

"Arts and expression have been found to have therapeutic benefits to both our staff and patients," said NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi CEO Christopher Mastromano. "We are pleased to welcome this display at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi, which portrays a canvass that is as vibrant as the Bronx community we serve."

"The mural serves as a visual representation of the strong community culture at Jacobi Hospital," said Artist Ebony Bolt. "There is a pride in creating a positive and inclusive space for staff, patients and family members. The goal was to highlight how intentional the team members were in providing care and assistance to all. I wanted everyone to be able to see parts of themselves in the diverse characters that were depicted."

Ebony Bolt (@ebony_bolt), a New York-based artist, draws from her background as a CAD Print Designer in the fashion industry to create vibrant prints and patterns inspired by the city's energy. Her work blends sketches of train commuters with motifs from the urban landscape and nature, reflecting the diverse tapestry of New York City. Influenced by the people and rhythms of New York, Bolt's creative process celebrates the city's diversity and the human experience.

NYC Health + Hospitals is participating in the Hospital Murals Evaluation (HoME), a global evaluation of the impact of murals in hospitals being led by the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, established in collaboration with the World Health Organization. In the first study of its kind, the HoME study seeks to advance understanding of the impact that murals in hospitals and other clinical settings can have on people who view these large visual artworks including patients, staff, and visitors. The project will involve a mixed-methods study at sites in Slovenia, Nigeria, the UK and US, assessing possible correlations between viewing murals and workplace belonging, perceived quality of care, and wellbeing.

"Murals are a meaningful and accessible way of transforming healthcare environments into optimal spaces of healing, especially when they reflect community values, interests, and concerns," said Dr. Nisha Sajnani, Associate Professor at NYU Steinhardt and Co-Director of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, which is leading the HoME study.

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/Jacobi

NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi is a 457-bed teaching hospital affiliated with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The facility has earned numerous Center of Excellence designations, accreditation, and recognition for its renowned Level 1 Trauma Center, Burn Center, Surgical Intensive Care Unit, regional Stroke Center, Snakebite Treatment Center, Breast Health Center, Bariatric Surgery Center, and Cancer Service. The facility also offers the region's only multi-person hyperbaric chamber, allowing up to nine patients to dive together at one time. Jacobi's Ambulatory Care Pavilion is a stunning complement to its inpatient acute care, allowing staff to provide patients with high-quality service in a modern, state-of-the-art environment. For more information visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org/jacobi.

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 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.

About the Jameel Arts & Health Lab

The Jameel Arts & Health Lab was launched in January 2023 following the signing of agreements between the WHO Regional Office for Europe, the Steinhardt School at New York University (NYU), Community Jameel, and CULTURUNNERS. Focused on overlooked and underserved communities, the lab coordinates and amplifies scientific research into the effectiveness of the arts in improving health and well-being to drive policy implementation across 193 UN Member States. Jameelartshealthlab.org

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