"Healing in Community " (2023)
Photomural by Rachel Fawn Alban
NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine Community Mural Project,
Coler Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Hospital, Roosevelt Island, NYC.
“Healing in Community” is a high-resolution photomural printed on polytab, measuring 71 x 196 inches. It features 35 black-and-white portraits of Coler Hospital community members, including residents, volunteers, staff—and everyone’s favorite, MoMo the therapy dog. 🐾 The choice to work in black and white emphasizes each person’s individuality, while bringing them together as a collective portrait of care, resilience, and belonging.
This mural invites viewers to pause, meet each subject’s gaze, and connect—to truly see them. In a time of so much division, what might shift if we recognized each person’s humanity? What might be possible if we understood that we all have a role to play in one another’s healing and well-being?
As part of the process to create this mural, I visited Coler weekly to engage participants in hands-on photography projects including cell phone photography, editing, and digital printing. In the fourth week, everyone was invited to make their own art while I did the photo portraits for the mural using professional lighting and a makeshift backdrop.
The weekly photography engagement visits were an important part of the process. I don’t think the portraits would have been as strong without this time spent building trust. Some of the participant artwork will be exhibited at the hospital in the vitrines facing the mural in 2024.
Read the press release here.
Above and below images from the summer workshops by Emireth Herrera and me.
This project was organized by NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine Program and Residency Unlimited,
supported by Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund.
Below: Installation images by me, images from ribbon cutting ceremony on 11/30 by Lois Stavsky and me.
