Sharing Stories: A collaborative exhibition between CHI staff and artist Peggie Mc Keon

Sharing Stories is a collaborative exhibition born from a series of lunchtime wellbeing workshops for Children’s Health Ireland’s staff, facilitated by Visual Artist Peggie Mc Keon. Workshops took place in CHI Connolly, Tallaght, Temple Street and Crumlin hospitals as well as the CHI Herberton office.

By focusing on food culture and memory, Sharing Stories celebrates the many diverse cultures that make up CHI. They provide us with a means to connect to others and they can be powerful tools in shaping how we engage with those around us and connect us to our community.

Participants were invited to mono print onto a 10m tablecloth using fruit and vegetables as a printmaking tools. Each participant was given their own plate setting to adorn. Some printed their favourite dish or a cheeky takeaway, their seasonal favourites, grandmother’s secrets recipes and more.

The workshops promoted many conversations around food, memory and culture. Participants exchanged stories of  recipe successes and disasters, likes and dislikes, who absolutely hated cooking and who does the dishes. One thing was absolutely universal, we all have unique stories and memories centered around food and dining which paint a picture of who we are and where we come from.

Sharing food is universal and this project focused on evoking memories that we could share with one another, strengthening staff relationships and familiarising ourselves with the many diverse cultures that make up our hospital staff body.

Multiple staff from different departments turned up, igniting their creativity and sharing their lived experiences. This collaborative piece was assembled by nurses, cleaners, administrators, speech and language therapists, dieticians, psychologists, physiotherapists, students on work experience and more.

In keeping with the project’s aim of bringing people together, Sharing Stories invites the public to gather around this hand printed tablecloth and share a bowl of soup on Saturday 15 February in the Fumbally Stables, Dublin 8,  from 12 – 4pm.

Many thanks to Healthy Ireland, The Arts Council, HSE, Creative Ireland and the CHI Arts & Health team.