What do Covid-19 nurses say when they speak for themselves? How do they see themselves and their work? Artist and nurse Vanessa Michalak asked nurses to take selfies and write statements about their experience of the pandemic.

The results have been called “powerful” and “intensely moving” by visitors to the Sargent House Museum gallery, where large-scale paintings based on the selfies are on display. Next to each painting, a large placard presents the nurses’ stories in their own words.

One nurse, who contracted the disease, lost her sense of taste and smell, apparently for good. “I may never be able to smell fresh air,” she says, but counts herself lucky. “Other people lost so much more.” Another nurse describes her frantic efforts to prepare family zoom calls for patients whose faces were “swollen and misshapen” from having to lie on their stomachs for days. Another nurse says, “I don’t think anyone outside of healthcare will every understand what we went through.”

Much of the pandemic has come to us in statistics. This project presents one human experience at a time. It brings new meaning to the phrase “up close and personal” and new emotion to a crisis that threatens to outlast our capacity to care.

The Nurse Project celebrates the heroic work of healthcare providers, and offers an opportunity for them to speak. “Nursing,” says Michalak, “is a profession where individuals often feel unheard; their concerns, intelligence and instincts sidelined.” Being a nurse, like being an artist, she says, “is deeply rooted in identity. It is more than just a job."

Join us on Monday, September 27, at 6:00pm EST, for an evening with The Nurse Project creator, Vanessa Michalak. The presentation will be live-streamed from the Sargent House Museum, allowing audience members to ask questions.

The event is free, but donations are encouraged. Please register here to receive a link.