An artistic creation, the work of professional and amateur artists, was unveiled in a musical ceremony in the courtyard of the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville yesterday (Wednesday).
The Wall is four separate canvases created by four different groups of people, working under the guidance of urban artists, put together to create one piece of work.
The artists included patients from Stoke Mandeville Hospital, and The Wall will remain at the spinal injuries centre until the second week of July when it will be moved to The Henley Festival.
Festival spokesman Ben Welling said: “It was a fabulous afternoon, with patients, nurses and children from Aylesbury College in attendance.”
The festival has developed charity arts projects throughout the Thames Valley since 2000 and now The Wall project has established a new relationship with the hospital.
Guided by artists Ordu and False from the London West Bank Gallery, young people including patients from the hospital and students from Aylesbury College took part in the series of hands-on sessions.
Stewart Collins, Henley Festival programme director, said: “I’m so glad we’ve got ourselves in a project like this – all in all it’s been hugely rewarding and eye-opening watching the artists working with their various groups. So many positive messages have been coming out.”
To accompany the unveiling of The Wall, composer and musical director Jeremy Avis went back to the roots of Hip Hop and graffiti culture in 1970s New York, and created an original sequence of Hip Hop-inspired songs. Entitled “Walls have Ears”, they were performed by singers from Aylesbury College and staff from the hospital.
The Wall moves to the Henley Festival for July 10-14 and will be exhibited alongside original works from Banksy and other top names.