Pioneres (Pioneers) mural

A tribute to the woman who, throughout history, have made a contribution to the world of science. Or the story of a challenge that is also a cry of hope. A frieze entitled Pioneers, featuring women scientists from different eras, from Classical Greece to the present day.

Among the women depicted, you'll recognise the Greek gynaecologist Metrodora, the Italian Trota of Salerno, the anatomist Anna Morandi, the neurologist Rita Levi-Montalcini, the biochemist Gertrude Belle, the chemist Rosalind Franklin, the Spanish molecular biologist Margarita Salas and the nurse Linda H. Aiken. The last person in the series is an anonymous young woman accompanied by the caption, You can be one of them, and a wish: I want to be like you.

The graphic designer, Mateo Lara, known as Ma-La, painted these nine women on a 40-metre-long, 40-metre-high retaining wall. It stands adjacent to the Mediterrània building at the Hospital de la Vall d'Hebron.

The artist produced the work in 2022 with the help of students from the campus as well as health workers and patients from the hospital. Researchers from the facility drew up a series of recommendations for future scientists, which Ma-La added as a coda to the work. They include encouragement to never falter, to achieve their dreams and to persevere. The mural was unveiled on 11th February, International Day of Women and Girls in Science.