Hallmark Artists Dream Big for Kids
“We were inspired by the dreams that patients and their families shared with the Children’s Mercy team.” Matt Kesler, Hallmark Senior Artist
In the summer of 2020, Children’s Mercy Hospital came to Hallmark asking for creative support for its Dream Big Day—a family festival, celebration and walk to rally the Kansas City community around finding answers and hope for sick kids. Hallmark was a proud sponsor of this inaugural event, which was held virtually. The hospital wanted to create an art installation that could bring the event to life and provide families with a socially distanced way to experience the event in person.
Hallmark artists created a 30×10 foot mural at Crown Center Square, near Hallmark headquarters and not far from Children’s Mercy Hospital. A small team of artists worked together virtually to develop a mural design and a plan to execute it on large canvasses in a socially distanced way. The artists completed the painting as part of a workshop for #my5days—a program at Hallmark that provides creative employees with five days a year to dedicate to creative exploration and innovation. More than a dozen Hallmark artists signed up to use one of their #my5days to help paint in a show of support for Children’s Mercy Hospital and kids and families in the community.
“We were inspired by the dreams that patients and their families shared with the Children’s Mercy team,” said Matt Kesler, Hallmark’s senior artist who designed the mural. “It was an honor to be a part of this project that took those dreams and brought them to life on such a large scale. We hope the community enjoyed it and children, especially, saw themselves in it.”
The mural remained on display at Crown Center Square into the fall of 2020 before being moved to Children’s Mercy to be used for future opportunities.♦