At Texas Children’s, we know our patients are superheroes – and thanks to a new mural now on display at the Medical Center outpost of one of Houston’s favorite sandwich shops, so will our neighbors and friends in the local community.
The “Portraits of Courage” mural stretches across an entire wall at the Antone’s location on Fannin Street, featuring artwork drawn by our current and former patients. Inspired and guided by Texas Children’s Child Life Department, the young artists imagined themselves as superheroes to bring their colorful caped and masked characters to life.
The wide variety of drawings selected for the mural reflect the range of ages and ethnicities of the patients and families we serve, said Jake Rutherford of The Butler Bros, Texas Children’s creative agency.
“The idea for the mural came from our shared excitement about getting Texas Children’s Hospital patients to see themselves as superheroes,” Rutherford said, noting that the project was a collaborative effort between Child Life, Art Therapy, Antone’s and The Butler Bros.
“We wanted people visiting Antone’s to see that Texas Children’s patients are brave, capable and strong.”
According to our Child Life team, art helps our patients communicate about their world and express themselves without having to use words. The creative process can be therapeutic, providing a safe and developmentally sensitive way for children to navigate the hospital setting.
It also gives them a strong sense of accomplishment to complete their artwork, increasing their positive self-esteem and resilience even in the midst of medical treatments. Child Life team members said the experience gave one patient – in a clinic appointment following a bone marrow transplant – a time to reflect on how proud she is of herself for making it through.
Child Life specialists also noted that many of our patients were excited to be included in the mural and have a brush with fame. One young boy was “beaming” and “grinning ear to ear” when he learned his art would be displayed. Another patient told her art therapist that knowing her artwork is part of the mural gives her something to look forward to the next time she returns to Texas Children’s, where she’s been admitted for extended periods over the past few months.
Check out photos of the Portraits of Courage mural in the photo gallery below – and if you stop by Antone’s to see the artwork in person, consider ordering The Dr. Hotez One World sandwich while you’re there. The special banh mi is named for our own Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine and co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children’s.
In another partnership with Texas Children’s, Antone’s will donate 50 percent of the proceeds from the sale of The Dr. Hotez One World to the vaccine development center. The sandwich will be available through May 31 at all three Antone’s locations in Houston.
