SEE INSIDE: EARLY RESULTS AND ELECTION DAY COVERAGE
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THE NEWSPAPER OF JAMAICA, HOLLIS & ST. ALBANS
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Nov. 6-Nov. 12, 2020
THE ART OF HEALING
Community teams up to paint ‘Elmhurst Strong’ hospital mural
BY DEAN MOSES
Parties have become a
nearly nonexistent affair
thanks to COVID-19, yet on
Friday, Oct. 23, that is exactly
what Elmhurst Hospital
held.
The Elmhurst Hospital
Paint Party saw essential
workers, patients and elected
officials clutch paint brushes
as they collaborated to color
in a gigantic mural.
A portion of Elmhurst
Hospital’s lobby was sectioned
off from the coming
and goings of staff and
visitors where three desks
were erected, each tabletop
displaying an outline of a
mural depicting the diverse
Elmhurst neighborhood. To
ensure the safety of all participants
and to keep in accordance
with social distancing
guidelines, only a small
number of masked painters
were permitted to decorate
the piece at one time, equaling
to about 65 people over
the course of the day from 11
a.m. to 4 p.m.
The mural — named
“Elmhurst Strong” — was
designed by Luis Fernando
Lechón and portrays classic
Queens staples such as the 7
train and the hospital itself,
while also incorporating the
diversity of the people who
live and work in the area,
and, of course, the threat
of COVID-19 that the iconic
hospital has fought hard to
overcome.
“The principle of this
project is the diversity. All
the workers in Elmhurst
Hospital are from all over
the world, and so is the community.
I tried to represent
that diversity,” Lechón said.
As much as it was important
for Lechón to represent
the multinational Queens
neighborhood in his artwork,
it was equally important for
the Ecuadorian native to see
the community he now calls
home working together,
bringing the mural to life.
“It is not just me; all the
people are doing the work.
They will see the mural every
day and will feel they are
a part of it. Everybody is enjoying
and having a moment
where they can forget about
all the bad times. One nurse
told me that she felt very relaxed
after she painted, and
that’s what we need,” Lechón
added.
The Art in Medicine project
selected Lechón as one of
11 individuals chosen from a
list of close to 200 artists to
work with every public hospital
in New York City, each
mural illustrating elements
from their respective locations.
The goal of this initiative
is to help alleviate stress
and anxiety for both staff
and patients who face the
strain in hospital settings by
using art as an act of therapeutic
treatment.
Once completed, the mural
will be prominently displayed
in the hospital foyer
for visitors to enjoy for years
to come. In an effort to show
Photo by Dean Moses
support for this program,
elected officials including
Assemblywoman Catalina
Cruz, Acting Queens Borough
President Sharon Lee,
and Councilman Francisco
Moya each left their mark on
the mural.
“Art is often an expression
of happiness, of grief,
of the love we have for our
community. The minute I
saw this, I knew I had to go,”
Cruz said.
Vol. 8 No. 45 44 total pages