Photos unveiled at children's hospital "home from home"

A COLLECTION of stunning photographs by students at Manchester Metropolitan University will be unveiled this evening at the Ronald McDonald House Manchester, the free ‘home away from home’ for families of children undergoing treatment at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

The images, including well-known Manchester landmarks, will go up on the walls of each of the 60 bedrooms at Ronald McDonald House Manchester.

The new pictures will be formally unveiled at a special exhibition attended by Vice Chancellor Professor John Brooks, Dean of the Manchester School of Art David Crow, representatives from the charity and students.

The new pictures will join the existing collection of photographs, also by students from MMU, that were installed last year in the House’s communal areas including the kitchen, hallways and lift.

Exciting and rewarding

Students took the pictures in 2012 as part of the university’s undergraduate and postgraduate photography courses.

Photography lecturers Gavin Parry and Jacqueline Butler led the project.

Gavin Parry says: “This has been an exciting and rewarding project for all involved. The brief that we developed with Ronald McDonald House Charities was to introduce people who use the House to Manchester.

“As well as working with the city’s impressive landmarks and its rich cultural, industrial and sporting heritage, we also saw the project as a way of celebrating the creative talent and dynamic energy that Manchester is so well known for.”

Hard work and creativity

Mike Fairley, House Manager at Ronald McDonald House Manchester, says: “The pictures are wonderful. They will brighten up the rooms and make the House a real home away from home for the families who stay with us – sometimes for many months.

“We are very grateful to the students and staff at Manchester Metropolitan University for their hard work and creativity and hope to work with them again in the future.”