INSPIRED ALUMNI CREATE UPLIFTING MURAL
Alumni of the Art & Art History Program (University of Toronto Mississauga and Sheridan College) create 70-foot-long mural for Princess Margaret Hospital
Nov 01, 2007, Toronto
Alumni of Art & Art History worked with Annie Smith, program founder and former professor, to create the collaborative artwork, entitled ‘Floating’.
An opening reception for the project, installed in the Ambulance Waiting Area, was held on Wed. Oct 24 at 7:30 pm.
The alumni (Laurie Kallis, Denise Macharacek, Julie Saunders, Giovanni Senisi, Ayako Shimizu and Artemis Theophylactou) chose the Ambulance Bay Waiting Area at the request of the nurses and doctors of Princess Margaret Hospital. With no windows to the outside, patients in this room needed a little artistry in their surroundings to help pass the time.
‘Floating’ is a photographic panorama of bright blue sky and clouds, running as a frieze just below ceiling level, around the perimeter of the room. Drawings and photographs by the participants are depicted inside bubbles, which ‘float’ throughout the sky and even out into other areas of the room, providing opportunities for close-up examination and contemplation of the wide variety of whimsical imagery.
Dr. Annie Smith was the author of the award-winning book Bearing Up with Cancer: Life, and Living With…. This book, illustrated with her signature caricature bear, chronicles her life over the past two decades since first being diagnosed with cancer. Dr. Smith was involved with a variety of other art projects at Princess Margaret Hospital, created with the students of the Art & Art History Program. She passed away on Oct. 31, 2007.
With thanks to: Andrew Patrick, Epson Canada Limited for printing, Mondrian-Hall Inc. for mounting and laminating, Jackie Osmond Patrick for production assistance and Artery Studios Inc. for prototype production.
Princess Margaret Hospital is located at 610 University Ave. Toronto, ON, Canada M5G 2M9.
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If you would like more information or images from this project, please contact Julie Saunders at julie.saunders@utoronto.ca, ph 416-345-8983 x22, or visit the project blog at http://www.pmhmural.blogspot.com/.
2 comments:
When I found out that my father's cancer was going to be terminal, and that he had only a few months to live, I went into shock - literal can't-breathe, barely-left-standing shock.
Two days later I went to Annie's illustrated presentation on her life with cancer (which was soon after published as her book 'Bearing Up with Cancer - life, and living with'). And she made me laugh. About cancer. It felt like a miracle.
That was four years ago. In the time since, we saw a lot of each
other, particularly in working together on the mural project. It's a testament to her that she was able to inspire six independent-minded artists to
keep working together, with the great challenge of coming to an agreement on artistic decisions.
The love and encouragement that Annie gave so freely, to everyone she knew, was returned to her many times over. Whenever I visited her at the hospital, the nurses joked that they would be rich if they charged a quarter for each of her visitors.
I know I'm richer for having known her.
Julie
Annie Smith's obituary in The Globe & Mail can be seen at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/Deaths.20071103.93126327/BDAStory/BDA/
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