Published on: 21 November 2024
A Sunderland artist has created three landmark murals for theatre staff spaces to boost morale and staff wellbeing during their breaks.
Chris Cummings worked in the sterile services department at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust for 13 years before leaving in 2019 to pursue his art career.
Now he has returned to brighten up spaces, bringing local landmarks and a splash of colour to Sunderland Royal Hospital.
The project was made possible after the Integrated critical care unit (ICCU) Organ Donation Fund approached the Theatre’s Shared Decision-Making Council and Wellbeing Team for ideas on how to enhance staff spaces.
Tracy Simmons is a Theatre Team Leader and part of the Shared Decision-Making Council.
She said:
“As a team we’re so pleased to have taken on this project with Chris based on staff suggestions. We can’t add windows or make many changes physically to brighten our coffee rooms so adding the murals was the perfect solution to impact everybody.
“The artwork has already made an amazing difference by starting conversations between staff and creating a welcoming, bright environment for breaks.
“This is especially important as we face darker nights, during which some staff may not see any daylight between shifts."
Chris collaborated closely with hospital staff and the Shared Decision-Making Council group to bring the murals to life, taking input on what they would like to see on the walls.
To minimise disruption to staff areas, Chris worked nights over two weeks to complete the murals in rotation across the three rooms. The new artwork is across C Level, D Level, and in the Urology Theatre Staff Rooms.
Chris said:
“I’ve really enjoyed working on these as my first mural project, the challenge has been great. The old magnolia walls felt dark and empty at first with minimal contrasting colour in the rooms.
“I typically work on smaller canvases at home or in a small studio, so tackling this on a larger scale was an exciting opportunity.
“I’m over the moon with the results and the reaction to the pieces. Even better, the entire process went smoothly there were no delays or paint mishaps.”
Chris’s main piece of work is on C Level. It has seen him create a landscape of North East landmarks including Penshaw Monument, Roker Lighthouse, the Sunderland Empire, the bridges over the River Wear, the Stadium of Light and the Port of Sunderland. It also features a calming sunset across the landscape.
On D Level, he has added a calming view of the Roker seafront, with one man in the image wearing an Sunderland AFC hat, and the one in the Urology area is of Penshaw Monument.
Chris has been painting and drawing for the last 15 years. He is well known across the city for his SAFC football scenes, fan portraits and Sunderland landmarks.
Beth Nicholas, Theatre Support Worker at STSFT, said:
“I think with art in general, everyone’s got a visualisation of what they're seeing, but interpretation it is completely different to everybody.
“The reaction when Chris came in was amazing, it’s so heart-warming because you know it’s made such an impact in a positive way to people’s day to day working life.
“I especially love seeing the landmarks because I bet everyone's got a different memory at the different landmarks - it tells a story of the people living, working, and growing in Sunderland.
“I think as an entire department we’re really pleased with how it’s turned out and what the project has represented.”
