One of the 100 finalists in the Duchess of Cambridge’s Hold Still project has been made into a giant mural in Manchester. The mural represents Melanie, an NHS frontliner, wearing a face mask, glasses, gloves and scrub looking straight to the camera while sitting down.
The picture was taken in March by a colleague, Johannah Churchill.
Upon submitting her photograph, Ms Churchill said: “I took this photograph of my colleague Melanie wearing PPE in clinic.
“We are both nurses working in south west London.
“Melanie had been readying essential infection control procedures for the opening of the COVID Clinic that week.”
More of the finalists are set to go from film to wall and be transformed in inspirational, touching or cheeky murals across the country as the second wave of coronavirus continues to hit the UK.
Kate launched Hold Still in May, when the country was still under full lockdown.
The project was created in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, one of the Duchess’ most beloved patronages.
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Opened to everyone, no matter their age, this project was a photographic contest inviting people to capture life in Britain during the pandemic.
Submissions were open for six weeks, after which a panel of judges went through more than 30,000 pictures and picked 100 finalists.
Showing her support for Kate’s project Sophie, Countess of Wessex was also among those who submitted photographs.
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Prince Edward’s wife took a picture with her phone while volunteering at the Shah Jahan Mosque in Surrey.
Her photograph portrayed a fellow volunteer, Ali, smiling while putting together a bag of essentials.
The photographs who made the cut were shared by Kate on September 14 on Instagram.
In a caption to a collage published on Kensington Royal gathering these photos, Kate wrote: “In May this year, in collaboration with the @NationalPortraitGallery, we invited people of all ages, from across the UK to submit a photographic portrait which they had taken during lockdown.
“The images present a unique record of our shared and individual experiences during this extraordinary period of history, conveying humour and grief, creativity and kindness, tragedy and hope.”
Kate has been involved throughout the selection process by joining on video calls the judges.
But she also left comments under many pictures submitted to the contest via Instagram.
Ahead of the unveiling of the finalists, Kate shared the judge’s decision with the Queen.
The monarch said to be “inspired” by the ability of the photographers to capture Britain’s resilience.
In a letter penned during her stay at Balmoral Castle, the Queen wrote: “It was with great pleasure that I had the opportunity to look through a number of the portraits that made the final 100 images for the Hold Still photography project.
“The Duchess of Cambridge and I were inspired to see how the photographs have captured the resilience of the British people at such a challenging time, whether that is through celebrating frontline workers, recognising community spirit or showing the efforts of individuals supporting those in need.
“The Duchess of Cambridge and I send our best wishes and congratulations to all those who submitted a portrait to the project.”
