Gallery
Hospital Rooms
Hospital Rooms is an arts and mental health charity that instals world-class artworks in NHS inpatient mental health wards.
Hospital Rooms is an arts and mental health charity that was founded in 2016 by artist Tim A Shaw and curator Niamh White after a close friend was sectioned under the Mental Health Act. They were shocked to find that the environment that she was in at this very distressing time was not only cold and clinical, but also dilapidated and run down.
Recognising the immense power of art to provide solace, provoke thought and engender human connection, Hospital Rooms aims to bring about a fundamental change in the way that mental health wards are conceived, foregrounding the presence of art and creativity and transforming wards into welcoming, soothing and beautiful spaces.
We commission world-class artists to work with patients and staff in
collaborative and responsive workshops which inform the development of permanent, site-specific artworks for the wards. So far, we have completed more than 20 projects in some of the most challenging mental health settings that look after people with severe and enduring mental health diagnoses. Together, we are radically transforming bleak clinical environments and making them imaginative and thoughtful.
‘Our patients have loved this process. Some, who have never before engaged in art have cut their leave short to attend sessions. Others have wept tears of joy, described workshops as ‘the best day of their lives’ and told us that the sessions have eased times of utter despair. Thank you Hospital Rooms.’
– Staff Member, Hellingly Centre, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Recognising the immense power of art to provide solace, provoke thought and engender human connection, Hospital Rooms aims to bring about a fundamental change in the way that mental health wards are conceived, foregrounding the presence of art and creativity and transforming wards into welcoming, soothing and beautiful spaces.
We commission world-class artists to work with patients and staff in
collaborative and responsive workshops which inform the development of permanent, site-specific artworks for the wards. So far, we have completed more than 20 projects in some of the most challenging mental health settings that look after people with severe and enduring mental health diagnoses. Together, we are radically transforming bleak clinical environments and making them imaginative and thoughtful.
‘Our patients have loved this process. Some, who have never before engaged in art have cut their leave short to attend sessions. Others have wept tears of joy, described workshops as ‘the best day of their lives’ and told us that the sessions have eased times of utter despair. Thank you Hospital Rooms.’
– Staff Member, Hellingly Centre, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
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