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The nursing profession has seen many changes over the years. Many of those evolutions will be reflected in a new mural commissioned by the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.
The Evolving Face of Nursing, to be unveiled during Mural Arts Month in October, will grace the corner of Broad and Vine streets in Center City Philadelphia. At that busy intersection, tens of thousands of motorists will see this vision of 21st century nursing as they travel to and from the city. The new mural will bring a fresh take to the profession, replacing the popular A Tribute to Nursing, a 10-year old mural in the same spot that had begun to crumble off the wall.
From Past to Future
The mural acknowledges nursing is an essential profession to the well-being of any community "The mural speaks to nursing of the past moving into an evolving future," says Meg Saligman, the project's muralist.
The Mural Arts Program asked Saligman, a renowned muralist who did her first Philadelphia mural in 1989, to create this new portrait of nursing. The goal was to get people to see nurses in a new way. Today, nurses are more centered in primary care and an increasing number of male and minority nurses continue to join the profession. These contributions will be highlighted in the mural.
Saligman was chosen to do this mural, according to Jane Golden, executive director of the mural arts program, because, "The Evolving Face of Nursing is a high-profile project and Meg has created some of Philadelphia's most iconic murals." Furthermore, Golden said, "Through her artistic lens, the theme would be brought to life and presented to the world in an unprecedented way."
Saligman's friendship with Susan Sherman, MA, RN, president and CEO of the Independence Foundation, Philadelphia, and major co-sponsor of the nursing mural, , drew her to this project. Saligman says, "Nurses are extremely dedicated. The more I talked to nurses the more I wanted to paint this."
This project comes at an opportune time. 2010 is the International Year of the Nurse, a movement "honoring nurses' voices, values and wisdom," according to the IYN2010 website. It was pure synergy that the mural will be unveiled during the International Year of the Nurse, but the Mural Arts Program is thrilled with the coincidence.
Murals as Communication
Murals are some of the most democratic art forms because members of the community where they exist, in this case, the nursing community, act as both collaborators and subjects.
At 6,500 square feet, the Philadelphia nursing mural will use high tech LED lights and paint to create the illusion of two different murals by day and by night. It will be the first mural created with that technology. Portions of the mural will be painted directly on the wall and parts will be painted on acrylic cloth and then permanently adhered to the wall. Three panels will trace the story of nursing from its white-uniformed origins to the high-tech, multicultural profession it is today.
"Everything in the mural is drawn from the Philadelphia nursing community," Saligman said. More than 100 nurses from the region were interviewed about their profession and their words and images will grace the mural, larger-than-life. As light shines on the mural, faces will appear and disappear. The mural will seem to be evolving and animated at night.
All Nurses Represented
The Evolving Face of Nursing will showcase the entire cycle of the nursing profession, from students to seasoned directors of nursing. The Mural Arts Program asked the nursing schools - Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions, Gwynedd-Mercy College, Hahnemann University Hospital, Jefferson University, LaSalle University, Neumann University, and Villanova University College of Nursing - who are financially co-sponsoring the mural to each submit three to five contacts to be included in the project As Saligman explained, "It's not honoring head honchos, it's honoring everybody." These nurses contributed both their images to the mural and their thoughts on the profession.
Creating the mural was a true community effort. Besides the Philadelphia Independence Foundation and the nursing schools, a host of other local corporations and foundations provided funding. (See http://muralarts.org/press/index.php?id=95 for more information.)
The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program is the largest mural program in the country. It has created more than 3,000 pieces of public art since 1984, earning Philadelphia the name, "the city of murals."
Danielle Bullen is a freelance writer in the Philadelphia area.
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