Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital unveiled a new mural on April 21 painted by West High students and faculty.
Housed on the hospital’s third floor, the mural features acrylic paint, glass mosaics, ceramic tile, sculpture and photo paper. Sydney Dunn-Kraus, who worked on the piece for about 10 hours, said West art teacher Amy Giampoala came up with the mural’s design.
“The art department teachers all had little pieces of, ‘Oh, let’s add Pat’s across from Jefferson, let’s talk about the Shore, let’s go to … Croft Farms,'” Dunn-Kraus said. “All these fun places. Just finding those landmarks and finding a way to make them cohesive is really fun. And just building layer on top of layer is really cool.”
A panorama of the mural on Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital’s third floor.
Student Sadie Bittner noted that the mural rests in an atmosphere not known for art.
“(It was to) show our skills just in a way that’s sometimes art isn’t always displayed,” Bittner explained. “So murals are definitely out there, especially that we’re able to do it in Jefferson, not just in our school.”
Besides Bittner and Dunn-Krause, students Ava Zoltek, Kate Hebben and Essence Bishop have their signatures attached to the piece, while teachers Giampoala, Andrea Savidge, Jaime Cream and Francesco Gambino were also involved.
The room where the mural sits used to have windows, but after they were covered, the room was empty with a white wall. Rory Levinson, a nurse manager with the hospital who helped bring the artwork to life over the past two years, explained that the mural will bring more character to the unit.
“It was just very clinical,” he noted. “It didn’t really add any character to the unit. I wanted to bring some more character. So that’s where the impetus started. And we worked with Cherry Hill West over the course of two years to bring this to life.”
The two years taken to produce the mural was necessary to obtain approval from the hospital and for West to develop a plan and budget. Its cost was about $1,000.
Levinson had the original idea of the mural celebrating the township and region.
“I think it turned out great,” he enthused. “I love the inspiration behind the mural. I love that they brought over the students and faculty … They have multiple different art mediums, up to six different mediums …
“They did really good job bringing as many mediums as possible, and it’s really a celebration of South Jersey, Cherry Hill and Philadelphia.”
The third-floor room is used as a place for waiting families and for staff to eat lunch.
Frank Rocco, vice president of operations at Jefferson, said the hospital system is considering a similar project in its Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, which could use a “nice, therapeutic room,” he noted, and that it would continue its partnership with West and its students.
Kerry O’Connor, assistant director of media relations for the hospital, said Jefferson hopes to replicate the project at its Washington Township hospital with students from the township high school.
It took two years to produce the mural and place it at the hospital. Its cost was about $1,000.
