Mosaic the City
A Collaboration between: Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Incorporating the National Children’s Hospital
Tallaght Community Arts Centre
1 – 5 November, 2004
Introduction
The key policy objectives of the AMNCH arts strategy are to:
Enhance the quality of the aesthetic environment of the hospital
Provide a vibrant event-based program that will facilitate increased access to the arts for the staff and the wider hospital community
Explore the application of the arts in the hospital environment to promote their intrinsic therapeutic value
Promote the distinctive contribution of the arts to increase interaction and involvement with the local community.
In keeping with all the elements of the arts strategy, the Mosaic the County workshop brought together 16 artists, 5 leaders, and over 400 staff, patients and visitors to create four mosaics over a five day period in November, 2004.
One mosaic will remain with the hospital while the others will be sent to Canada, Tallaght Community Arts Centre and the final one will tour the country to further disseminate the value of the project!
The Program
The purpose of the workshop was to familiarize the participants with all aspects of implementing a community based mosaic project. The workshops were a simulation - carried out over one week – of a project that would normally take three to six months to implement. At the completion of the workshop all participants had been walked through the entire process and had a solid understanding of the amount of work and the number of people required to smoothly employ a project. The artists and leaders could then return to their community and introduce the project concept, determine the interest in implementing a project and decide if the volume of support is great enough to begin building community unity through your own mosaic. The idea is that materials, technical advice and hands-on participation is donated wherever possible, thereby keeping the costs minimal.
Workshop artists were drawn from the larger community and included artists from the South Dublin area, Wicklow and Wexford. The leaders were staff from the Tallaght Community Arts Centre, the hospital Arts Officer, and the Mosaic the City team (Shylene and Jonathon Schlackl, and John Azur) from Canada. Tallaght Community Arts Centre also organized speakers to come to the workshops. These included a funding and sponsorship presentation by CREATE, a presentation of a mosaic project carried out by Traveler Women, and time management techniques.
Outcome
Four mosaics were completed through outreach initiatives. On the third day the community was invited to contribute to the creation of the mosaics. The themes and design had been collaboratively created by the artists (four artists per mosaic) and tiles had been broken, colours chosen and the surface prepared. The hospital mosaic was taken onto Hospital Street during lunch break in order to encourage staff, patient and visitor involvement. At this juncture over 300 participants added pieces of tile to the mosaic.
The following day grout was added and the works were finished off. Documentation of the program and a celebration was carried out. Over 85 people from the hospital and broader community attended. Immediately after the celebration the mosaics were installed at Glencree Centre for Reconciliation in Co. Wicklow and exhibited for a two week period. A half hour program on RTE 1 will be aired regarding the project on Sunday 14th November.
Upon completion of the exhibit in Glencree, the mosaics will be relocated to assist in the dissemination of the program:
One mosaic remained in the hospital and be installed on Hospital Street
Theme: The hospital as the heart of the community
One mosaic went to the Tallaght Community Arts Centre
Theme: A sunshine representing links to the community
One will travel back to Canada and be installed in Heritage Square in Victoria, British Columbia
Theme: A totem pole representing the past and present of Tallaght
One will tour Ireland to encourage other similar projects
Theme: The Liffey River
Comments
'I enjoyed working with everyone, didn't ever see the day going. Everyone worked so well together. It was wonderful to see doctors, nurses and other staff take the time out to join in and add their own little piece to the mosaic' - Celine, participant
‘Wasn’t sure about starting, and was invited into the room. Once I started I didn’t want to leave, but I had a class so had to. I’ll come back for the celebration’. 4th year medical student completed hospital mosaic.
'Many emotions and facial expressions were noted as photographs of the day were shown to my group. Trepidation, hesitation, participation, exhilaration. Short and sweet for some, while others lingered longer, wanting to leave their mark on our concept design. We looked on and learned that the art of acceptance is letting go . . . ' Jo, participant
