PHOENIX, May 1, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Phoenix Children's today unveiled a 407-foot
commissioned mural that has transformed a heavily trafficked
corridor into a captivating and exciting journey for children and
their families. Nearly two years in the making, the art
installation, called "Wonder And Wander" brings vibrant colors and
imaginative designs to a major hospital hallway through which
70,000 children are transported each year.
The installation is a collaboration between Phoenix Children's
and RxART, a nonprofit organization that aims to help children heal
through the power of visual art. Inspired by RxART's mission,
Phoenix Children's Board Chair and RxART Board Member David
Lenhardt worked closely with the organization to create an art
installation at Phoenix Children's Hospital – Thomas Campus. "Wonder And Wander" is the
largest project ever completed by RxART.
"Our goal was not only to brighten a major corridor at Phoenix
Children's but also to reduce anxiety and create a calming
environment for the thousands of children who are wheeled down this
hall for surgery, imaging and other critical healthcare
procedures," said Lenhardt. "You can't help but smile when you see
this piece. I know it will make all the difference for kids
battling illness or trauma who may need an extra dose of joy."
His enthusiasm for the project was shared by the health system's
Children's Advisory Board (CAB), a council of patients and siblings
ages 12-18 whose perspectives directly impact the patient family
experience. The CAB members had previously identified the hallway
as an area of the hospital that needed to be more patient friendly
and uplifting. They knew the artwork would breathe new life into
the space and bring hope to kids.
Lenhardt worked alongside RxART founder, Diane Brown, to identify the right artist for
Phoenix Children's installation. They enlisted contemporary artist
Shara Hughes, whose art has been
displayed in museum exhibitions worldwide, to create the
otherworldly landscape piece.
Hughes used colored pencil, oil pastel, watercolor, marker and
crayon on paper – materials familiar to children – to create
"Wonder And Wander." The design was then enlarged and transferred
to Acrovyn, a hospital-safe, custom wall-covering application.
"Sometimes, the installation feels immersive, like you are in
the landscape, being hugged by the trees on either side and
sometimes it is viewed as if you are a passenger looking
outside of a window on one side," said Hughes. "The drawing shifts
in materials and perspective of what you can and can't see ahead
and behind you. While the unknown is present in the drawings,
I wanted it to feel like a safe, positive and hopeful space where
kids could reflect, to find a moment of respite, and see a
landscape change, move and grow. I wanted it to feel exciting and
hopeful to move through."
"Seeing our vision come to fruition in such an impactful way,
for such an important purpose, has been such a rewarding
experience," said Lenhardt. "I am so grateful for RxART and
especially for Shara, who put her heart and soul into creating the
perfect piece for Phoenix Children's and the families we
serve."
About Shara
Hughes
Shara Hughes
(b. 1981, Atlanta) uses dizzying
brushwork, vibrant colors, and shifting perspectives to make
paintings that defy many of the existing conventions associated
with the landscape genre. Natural motifs and patterned elements
recur throughout Hughes's pictures: snake-like trees, floating
moons, distorted reflections in bodies of water, and stippled night
skies appear in various permutations, synchronized with
harder-to-define forms in which abstract and representational
impulses co-exist in unorthodox harmony. Shara Hughes has been the subject of solo
exhibitions at Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg, Denmark (2023); Kunstmuseum Luzern,
Switzerland (2022); Yuz Museum,
Shanghai (2021–2022); Contemporary
Art Museum St. Louis (2021); Garden Museum, London (2021); Aspen Museum of Art,
Colorado (2021); and Le
Consortium, Dijon, France (2021).
Recent group exhibitions include Open Ended: SFMOMA's Collection,
1900 to Now, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (ongoing); Being in
the World: The Tenth Anniversary of the Long Museum, Long Museum,
Shanghai (2023); Nature humaine –
Humaine nature, Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles, France (2022–2023); among others. Also in
2018, her painting Narnia (2017) was acquired by Phoenix Art
Museum, with funds provided by the Dawn and David Lenhardt Emerging
Artist Acquisition Fund. Hughes lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
About RxART
The Mission of nonprofit RxART is to
help children heal through the extraordinary power of visual art.
RxART commissions established contemporary artists to transform
children's hospital settings into engaging and uplifting healing
environments at no cost to the hospitals.
About Phoenix Children's
Phoenix Children's is
one of the nation's largest pediatric health systems. It comprises
Phoenix Children's Hospital – Thomas Campus, Phoenix
Children's Hospital – East Valley Campus, Phoenix Children's
– Avondale Campus, Phoenix Children's – Arrowhead Campus,
four pediatric specialty and urgent care centers, 12 community
pediatric practices, 20 outpatient clinics, two ambulatory
surgery centers and seven community-service outpatient clinics
throughout the state of Arizona. The system provides
world-class inpatient, outpatient, trauma, emergency and urgent
care and has been serving children and families for 40 years.
Phoenix Children's Care Network includes more than 1,405 pediatric
primary care providers and specialists who deliver care across more
than 75 subspecialties. Alongside our colleagues,
collaborators and communities, we're elevating pediatric care,
education and innovation, so we can all grow healthier together.
For more information, visit phoenixchildrens.org.
Quotes for Publication
Quotes from David Lenhardt,
Phoenix Children's Board Chair and RxART Board
Member
"Our goal was not only to brighten a major
corridor at Phoenix Children's but also to reduce anxiety and
create a calming environment for the thousands of children who are
wheeled down this hall for surgery, imaging and other critical
healthcare procedures. You can't help but smile when you see this
piece. I know it will make all the difference for kids battling
illness or trauma who may need an extra dose of joy."
"Seeing our vision come to fruition in such an impactful way,
for such an important purpose, has been such a rewarding
experience. I am so grateful for RxART and especially for Shara,
who put her heart and soul into creating the perfect piece for
Phoenix Children's and the families we serve."
Quote from Shara Hughes,
Artist
"Sometimes, the installation feels immersive, like
you are in the landscape, being hugged by the trees on either side
and sometimes it is viewed as if you are a passenger looking
outside of a window on one side," said Hughes. "The drawing shifts
in materials and perspective of what you can and can't see ahead
and behind you. While the unknown is present in the drawings,
I wanted it to feel like a safe, positive and hopeful space where
kids could reflect, to find a moment of respite, and see a
landscape change, move and grow. I wanted it to feel exciting and
hopeful to move through."
Quote from Diane Brown,
Founder of RxART
"Since our founding in 2000, RxART has championed the benefits of
creative environments on the patient experience. This collaboration
between Phoenix Children's and artist Shara
Hughes is RxART's most ambitious to date, and we are proud
to bring a project of this magnitude to the Phoenix community. The way the entire team at
Phoenix Children's has rallied behind this project, advocating for
the needs of their patients, has been moving and inspiring. If
anyone who wanders along the halls of this project feels a little
more welcomed and cared for, we will all have done our job
well."
Quote from Anthony Peachey,
Construction Specialties Marketing Director
"Construction
Specialties is proud to play a part in creating environments
conducive to well-being and healing. One of the ways we do that is
by combining our industry-leading wall protection, Acrovyn®, with
art. Acrovyn has been on the market since 1969, and in 2012, we
launched Acrovyn by Design®, a solution that allows photos,
patterns, and graphics to be embedded behind transparent, durable
Acrovyn sheets. This blend of protection and creativity helps make
art accessible in places it may not have been previously. We know
that this monumental project at Phoenix Children's will bring joy
to thousands of children, and we are thrilled to have
contributed."
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SOURCE Phoenix Children's