The Hope Murals Project National Art Movement Culminates in Painting Event at Grand Central Terminal on October 23

Published: October 23, 2014

NEW YORK, Oct. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Chester, N.Y., resident Ellen Mayer wears many hats: professional artist, inventor, wife, mother, grandmother, recent college graduate and, as of October 23, muralist. Mayer is also a cancer survivor
and kickboxer who notes, "My true grit helped me stay strong and knock out my cancer."

On October 23, the resolve Mayer has shown throughout her cancer journey will be immortalized in New York's storied Grand Central Terminal as hundreds gather to transform her artwork titled "Balancing Act" into a Hope Mural. The transformation of this artwork — depicting how cancer allowed Mayer to create a new sense of stability in her life — into a 12-by-20-foot mural is part of The Hope Murals Project, a national community art movement aiming to create permanent tributes in 10 cities throughout the United States and Puerto Rico to honor those touched by cancer. The New York Hope Mural is presented by Lilly Oncology and the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS), with CancerCare® and The Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) of Columbia University and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. This initiative was launched to mark the 10th anniversary of the Lilly Oncology On Canvas Art Competition, which is presented by Lilly Oncology and NCCS. The competition invites all residents of the United States and Puerto Rico who have been touched by cancer to express, through art and narrative, the life-affirming changes that give meaning to their cancer journeys. Prizes consist of donations to cancer-related charities chosen by the winners.

Among the hundreds of painters present in Grand Central's Vanderbilt Hall will be the top three national winners of the 2014 Lilly Oncology On Canvas Art Competition. In addition, an exhibition of more than 100 entries from the 2014 competition will be featured.

"For a decade, Oncology On Canvas has provided a platform for thousands of cancer survivors, family members, caregivers and healthcare professionals to share their journeys, and for countless thousands more to be inspired by their artwork through exhibitions," said Newt Crenshaw, vice president, Lilly Oncology. "We are excited to bring communities together by bringing this moving artwork to life across the country through The Hope Murals Project."