POIGNANT pieces of artwork are now in display in Bradford hospitals in tribute to the heroism of NHS staff during the pandemic.
Visitors to Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke’s Hospital can now view the pictures, which were created by Bradford School of Art students as lasting memorials to the tireless work of healthcare heroes.
Art and Design lecturer Carole Griffiths, who led the Level 4 Art and Design BA (Hons) students in the project, said: “The aim was to capture the legacy of care, working in a team, pulling together all resources to support and nurse patients throughout an extremely difficult time.”
The project began after staff at Bradford Teaching Hospitals came up with an idea for multi-media artwork to commemorate the NHS experience of Covid-19 in Bradford.
The Trust then contacted Bradford College to ask if students and staff would consider working with them to produce a commemorative piece of art.
After coming up with some initial ideas, the students began to create their pieces of art.
All based their work on the concept of care provided throughout the Covid-19 pandemic by the hospital staff.
Carole said: “The rainbow and the heart have been significant symbolic references in many hospitals and these were their starting points.
“The idea was to present a wide range of creative art works, which in turn would brighten up specific areas of the hospital to enable people to remember, be proud and demonstrate the provision of care throughout the hospital.”
A total of 23 pieces of art were created and staff then voted for their favourites, with the 10 most popular going on display.
The winning pictures have been created by Peter Hodgson, Sarah Bukhari, Shane Sproule, Hafsah Shahid, Ioan Hirst, Kimberlee Middleton and Natalie Smith.
“Staff have worked in extremely difficult circumstances,” said Carole.
“Their efforts to console family members and support one another throughout have been essential within their roles.”
Mel Pickup, Chief Executive at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said it was going to be “fantastic” to see the students’ art on the walls.
She added: “We’ve tried really hard to capture some of the feelings of our communities and this was a wonderful way of being able to do that. The pictures will all mean something different to everybody who looks at them.”
Carole added: “It’s a massive achievement for us to have our work on display like this.”
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