Sick children in Manitoba face some of the hardest days of their lives in Winnipeg’s Children’s Hospital. To brighten up the space, the Children’s Hospital is on the lookout for local artists to help with a new initiative.
“We are the Children’s Hospital in the entire province,” says Children’s Hospital Foundation president and CEO, Stefano Grande. “In fact, we serve kids are far north as Nunavut and as far east as Thunder Bay. We serve over 140,000 kids a year. This week, we launched a very special project. Our hospital is undergoing major renovations.”
Local painters and artists are being asked to help paint the Children’s Hospital CK5 ward, where many children battling cancer will be located. Those who are interested in signing up to help with this initiative can do so with Winnipeg’s Graffiti Gallery. There is a $3,000 honourarium for the 20 artists chosen.
“This space has not been touched since the 80s. These rooms are old and obsolete. The technology is old and the chair the siblings and caregivers sit on are outdated and hard. The walls are blank. We developed a campaign that included new furniture, bedside equipment, and what we heard from the families, kids, and frontline staff is, ‘Can you do something about the design?'”
The murals in the rooms will have a nature theme, highlighting some of Manitoba’s most beautiful animals and scenery.
“We know, Manitoba artists from across our province are incredible human beings. We said, ‘Is there a way we can artists from Manitoba to bring what they feel is important from their community? In the space of nature, and kids, and play?’ This week we put out a call for proposals.”
CK5 is currently under renovations and closed to patients. While renovations are ongoing, the foundation is still looking for financial support to complete the floor. Anyone interested can find all the details on their website.
“Our hope is that we can play a small role in putting a smile on the face of these kids when they receive their treament, and on some of the hardest days of their lives. The staff at our hospital are incredible human beings. They go above and beyond in making people feel welcomed and happy, and creating experiences for them by doing little things.”
Grande continues, sharing the reality that, “None of these kids want to be here. They’re dealing with health issues and it’s up to us as a community to ensure that they have the best physical spaces, the best bedside equipment, technology, and research. What I’ve learned is, our community can create this change.”
