Difference is power
PUBLIC ART MANAGEMENT | CURATION
“I’ve known many heroes and heroines during my time where they never get recognition. They’re usually people of color and people from diverse backgrounds […] I think that’s changing a lot because people are realizing it takes all of us to make society the place we live in today.”
Norman Yee, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors,
New Mural Celebrates Diverse Heroes in Nursing, UCSF School of Nursing,
Client: UCSF School of Nursing
Artists: Jessica Sabogal and Shanna Straus
The revolution of nursing has come a long way for inclusion and diversity. For University of California San Francisco School of Nursing, these are the standing principles that are reflected in educating their students, faculty members, alumni, and as well as reflected on the walls of their learning environment.
“Difference is Power” is a mixed media mural that stretches across the walls of the 2nd floor of the School of Nursing where students regularly as they go to their classes. With the help of Art Builds Community, the school commissioned artist team Jessica Sabogal, muralist, and Shanna Straus, mixed media visual artist, to commemorate the strides that have been made by diverse individuals and groups in healthcare throughout history.
The portrait sections of the mural honors and acknowledges the lives of four diverse nurses in varying phases of their careers (from left to right): Sarah Gomez Erlach, Florence “Flo”Stroud, Marilyn Chow, and Emma Deboncoeur have made pioneering, unique, and significant contributions to the field. The smaller image transfer sections honors historic individuals, groups, and organization: Leonore Villegas de Magnón and the Women of La Cruz Blanca, Mabel K Staupers, Red Cross Nurses in the Philippines, and Cliff Morrison and the ARC AIDS Vigil in San Francisco.