GEORGE NEWS - George Hospital is proud to have been chosen as one of only six hospitals in the world to be part of a project to honour staff at the front line of the fight against Covid-19, the Balcony Bands Mural Project. Front-line staff at the hospital painted six murals on a colour-by-dots basis, and the murals were unveiled at the hospital on Friday 18 September.
The designs were painted on six continents in the countries where the stories took place: Italy, Brazil, South Africa, Iraq, Australia, and the United States.
Michael Vonk, the CEO of the hospital, said the multi-panel design is based on real-life stories of people bringing joy to their neighbours during lockdown.
"The paintings serve as a reminder of the strength of the human spirit and how we responded as a hospital, and a global community. It is a testimony to the determination and resilience of all the health care workers at George Hospital who joined together to care for patients with Sars-CoV-2 during the 2020 pandemic.
The Balcony Bands Mural Project was a tremendous opportunity for staff to participate in a creative and stimulating activity away from the front line, and support their emotional well-being. We are excited to unveil the completed project today," said Vonk.
The project was initiated and funded by the Foundation for Hospital Art (FFHA), an international non-profit organisation (www.hospitalart.org). The FFHA was established in 1984 and is dedicated to involving patients and volunteers worldwide to create colourful, soothing artwork which is donated to hospitals to help soften the often stressful hospital experience.
Throughout the years, over a million volunteers and patients have united to create over 48 000 paintings for more than 6 000 hospitals in 195 countries.
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