NAHN has been awarded funding from Arts Council England to develop a web-based resource available to any hospital, to support the development of creative interventions that support patient experience and staff wellbeing. Stay tuned for more updates soon.
A powerful and moving portrait of the NHS on its 75th Anniversary. This unprecedented national collaboration between 19 hospital trusts, thousands of NHS staff in hospitals across England and a creative team led by Kwame Kwei-Armah, built on and celebrated the incredible, but often hidden work of the National Arts in Hospitals Network.
A six month programme of creative activity with NHS staff explored, shared and reflected upon what being part of the organisation means to them, culminating in live performances both in the Trusts and at a special, one-off show at Aviva Studios in Manchester in November 2023.
Colouring Adult Eczema: getting under the skin, is a public engagement art project commissioned by Professor Sinéad Langan at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, supported by the Wellcome Trust. Created and produced by artists Peter Hudson and Julia Vogl from nationwide workshops with 30 adults living with eczema in the summer of 2019. A light sculpture was created that can be viewed, listened to, challenging what you know about eczema.
The sculpture was exhibited at the British Association of Dermatology annual conference, the University of Glasgow, and is currently on show at Guy’s Hospital, London.
Boredom Busters was developed in response to extensive evidence highlighting the importance of cognitive and physical activity to aid healing and prevent decline, particularly among older and long stay patients. Content was compiled from NAHN Arts Programmes, plus submissions from figures in the creative sector and included puzzles, games, breathing for relaxation, poetry, songs, prompts for creative writing, drawing, origami, conversation and a means of expressing gratitude.
Over 60,000 copies have been distributed to hospitals across the UK since 2020. The project was led by Culture Weston and the Arts and Culture Programme of University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust on behalf of NAHN.
Contributors:
Hemingway Design pro bono support for graphic design
Banksy (artist), Bastille (band), Rachel Barbarisi (artist), Ramona Bigwood (artist), Michael Bird (art historian), Lizzie Burns (science artist), Beth Calverley (poet), Megan Clark-Bagnall (artist), Lindsey Cole (adventurer), Andy Council (street artist), Amy Creech (creative arts therapist), John Crockford-Hawley (local historian), Adam Dant (artist), Jeremy Deller (artist), David Dimbleby (current affairs presenter), Stanley Donwood (artist), Dionne Draper (singer), Graeme Evelyn (artist), Anna Farthing (producer), Patrick Gale (author), Antony Gormley (artist), Orlando Gough (writer), Dr Phil Hammond (medic and broadcaster), Sarah Hickson (photographer), Vic Hole (dancer), Ana Jaks (artist), Luke Jerram (artist), Alan Lightman (physicist and writer), Manoj Malde (garden designer), Judy Marshall (artist), Sophia Marshall (illustrator), Fiona Matthews (producer),Wayne McGregor (choreographer), Liz Milner (photographer), Fraser Muggeridge (artist), Martin Parr (photographer), Elizabeth Purnell (musician), Mark Ravenhill (playwright), Liz Rideal (artist) Katherine Riegel (poet), Mike Richmond (events specialist), Stewy (street artist), Kev F Sutherland (comic artist), Joe Townsend (musician), Bob Walton (poet), Alison Williams (DJ), Kalpna Woolf (food writer)
In May 2020, Damien Hirst created Butterfly Rainbow to show support for the NHS during the Coronavirus crisis. The work is made up of bands of coloured butterfly wings, one of the artist’s best‐known motifs. A limited edition of the work was produced with all profits donated to NHS Charities Together, raising a total of £1,508,172. Hirst went on to donate a collection of 50 prints to the NHS. NAHN support the distribution of these works, which are now proudly on display at 50 hospitals across the UK.
Damien Hirst said: “I wanted to do something to support the many people who are risking their lives to help those in need during this time of crisis. The rainbow is a sign of hope and I’m so pleased to have released these prints to help fund the brilliant work being done by NHS staff across the country.”