Art meets science

A UCL medical school student has won a prize in the student category of the prestigious Blair L Sadler International Arts in Healthcare Awards 2004.

The awards, which were established in 2002, promote and encourage the use of visual and performing arts in healthcare.

The winning entry, a mural by Ms Rosanna Wellesley (Medical School 5) with a loose anatomical theme, can be seen at UCL's Cruciform Building. Situated at the bottom of the building's former lift shaft, it can be viewed by medical students on their way to and from lectures and is designed to help them make a connection between what they see in class, and what they will experience for the first time in hospital.

Ms Wellesley explains: "It's a more fanciful take on human anatomy. The idea partly came about because medical students do an awful lot of book learning for anatomy and we've lost that more playful, fanciful and imaginative attitude towards the subject. With the mural they hopefully get to see something which helps them explore the things they are learning through books in a more creative way." The mural was executed entirely in pencil and comprises of a number of reclining and prone figures drawn in a classical style. Ms Wellesley studied art at the Ruskin School of Drawing & Fine Art, University of Oxford, before completing her medical studies at UCL. She has undertaken several commissions.

Mr Michele Petrone, an honorary lecturer in the Centre for Medical Humanities, also received an award in the professional category for his painting, Touching the Rainbow.

Images: Top - Detail from Ms Wellesley's award winning mural. Bottom - Ms Rosanna Wellesley.

To find out more about the awards, use the link below.

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Link: Blair L Sadler International Arts in Healthcare Awards