Elgin hospital unveils mural made in Thailand

A multicultural mural designed by a local artist and made in Thailand was unveiled Monday in the lobby of Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin.

The 6-by-12-foot mural depicts human figures made of collage on a painted background. It includes the word "welcome" in languages such as Lao, Tagalog, Spanish and Polish - representing cultures within the local community and hospital staff - and it incorporates the hospital's values of compassion, stewardship, equality, partnership and excellence, said Paola Velasquez, the hospital's diversity chairwoman.

"We wanted something that welcomes the patients we serve," she said.

Hallie Morrison of Algonquin designed the mural. She is the art director at Art Relief International, a nongovernmental organization in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where she worked on the piece with the help of Art Relief members, boys housed in a juvenile detention center and local Burmese migrants, Velasquez said.

Side Street Studio Arts in Elgin partnered with the hospital to promote a call to local artists to create the mural. The hospital paid $200 to the Elgin group and $1,000 to the artist, Velasquez said.

"None of this would have been successful without (Side Street's) guidance," Velasquez said.