Helping Hands: Photographs from a community of care

The Helping Hands exhibition is a collaboration between UMCG Internal Medicine (Unit A3) and the University College Groningen (UCG). In September of 2017, the staff of Unit A3 invited UCG students to explore how the arts might be used to enrich the Unit A3 working environment. Students interviewed Unit A3 staff, ‘shadowed’ them in their daily rounds, and investigated how the arts could lend support.

The Helping Hands exhibition is the result of that investigation. These are the hands of Unit A3 staff in the daily work of caregiving, and the quotes are taken from interviews. The photographs focus on hands only, and the quotes are anonymous, to emphasize the spirit of caring shared by staff throughout Unit A3 and the entire hospital: Doctors, nurses, cooks, secretaries, and assistants, everyone who contributes to UMCG’s community of care.

Not only should this reinforce community feeling among the staff, but it should also give some recognition to the hard work they carry out.