TAMIU “Be Well Project” Donates Artwork to Local Hospital Nurses

Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) College of Arts and Sciences visual art students completed a series of paintings, screen prints and ceramics to donate to nurses at both Doctor’s Hospital of Laredo and Laredo Medical Center.

The “Be Well” project is made possible through the University’s Act on Ideas initiative, alongside the collaborative efforts of faculty members Jesse Shaw, Josias Figueirido and Emily Bayless, assistant professors of Art, respectively.

Members of the Doctors Hospital administrative team welcomed the donations in a special outdoors, socially distanced and masked event Friday.

Dubbed the “Be Well Project” the idea came from a CBS Sunday Morning news story on Steve Derick, an amateur artist from Clifton Park, NY who wanted to find a way to pay back the front-line workers in his area who were treating COVID -19 patients, explained Dr. James Moyer, associate professor of Music and chair of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at TAMIU.

“I know first-hand the hours nurses put in during normal times, who are now working 12 to 15-hour shifts, risking themselves as they battle the Coronavirus. It seemed to me that we here at TAMIU could present a similar act of appreciation using the skills of our art students. I talked with the faculty as soon as they returned to campus and we began right away on the ‘Be Well Project,’” said Dr. Moyer.  

A unique component to the “Be Well Project” was the work of printmaking students who compiled masked “selfie” photos submitted to the Visual Arts department by students across the University. The photos were then compiled into a grid with the “Be Well” message printed onto each poster.

For additional information on the “Be Well Project” contact Moyer at 956.326.2654, email james.moyer@tamiu.eduor visit https://www.tamiu.edu/coas/fpa/.  

Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) is one of the 11 university members of The Texas A&M University System.  A primarily Hispanic-serving, State-assisted university founded in 1970,  its 300-acre campus is located in northeast Laredo, Texas on former ranchland. 

Home to 8,500 students from around the world, TAMIU offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees in the arts and sciences, business, education and nursing. As its name affirms, TAMIU maintains a special focus on developing an international academic agenda for the State of Texas.

U.S. News and World Report’s 2020 Edition of its popular Best Collegesguide ranks TAMIU as the second highest-ranked Texas public university in its Best Regional Universities West category and the highest-ranked regional campus of The Texas A&M University System.

TAMIU is also ranked second in the nation and first in Texas for having the lowest student debt, on average $3,477 in loans. TAMIU  also ranks 5th in the nation among the 100 Most Affordable Public Schools with the Highest Return on Investment according to ranking authority Great Value Colleges. 

Additional information is available at http://www.tamiu.edu

Members of the Doctors Hospital administrative team welcomed the donations in a special outdoors, socially distanced and masked event Friday, Oct. 2. The artwork was delivered by Dr. James Moyer and Jesse Shaw.