Arts for Wellbeing
Vital Arts’ Participation Programme brings creativity into hospital life through three strands: Arts Encounters, Creative Pathways, and Innovate with Art. Together, they offer uplifting arts experiences at the bedside, connect patients with creative opportunities beyond hospital, and support new ways of working through artist-clinician collaboration. The programme helps improve wellbeing, strengthens community links, and builds creative health skills across Barts Health.
-
Arts Encounters
Arts Encounters brings inspiring creative experiences to patients and staff across Barts Trust - from bedside performances to pop-up workshops - making meaningful moments through art part of everyday care.
-
Creative Pathways
Creative Pathways connects patients with local arts opportunities beyond hospital and supports creative practitioners to co-create bespoke programmes with clinical teams, building skills and capacity in the community.
-
Innovate with Art
Innovate with Art drives creative health innovation by partnering with researchers, clinicians, and artists to develop and evaluate arts-based projects that improve patient outcomes and address health inequalities across the Trust.
-
Commission workshops
Artists commissioned by Vital Arts to produce site specific work are invited to spend time with patients, delivering arts workshops and sharing insights into their practice and techniques.
Recent projects
Mindful art observation
Limina Collective joins Vital Arts at St Bartholomew’s hospital to develop an alternative way to engage with artworks around the hospital.
Opera at Barts
Opera at Barts provides uplifting, positive distraction for patients, opening the world of Opera to new audiences.
The Islanders
artist educator Sam Ayre delivers a programme of creative workshops around the school’s curriculum
Older adults singing programme - London Symphony Orchestra
Vital Arts partnered with London Symphony Orchestra to bring music onto the 5 older patients wards at Whipps Cross hospital
Who do you think you are?
National Portrait Gallery delivers two years of creative workshops with children at Barts NHS health Trust
Baby Bird’s Journey
Mothers, their new born babies and families were invited to sing, share and write new lullabies from around the world in weekly singing workshops
Up on the roof
Award-winning BBC wildlife recordist Chris Watson worked with children and young people to create a permanent sound installation for the Children’s 7th floor Roof Garden.
Shake, Rattle and Roll!
The LSO visit The Royal London Children’s Hospital to deliver an exciting programme of stories, songs and rhymes to our youngest patients and their parents.
Creative Health at Barts…
-
Kazzum Arts
Arts activities for children at Whipps Cross Hospital
-
The Friends Music Project
The Friends of the Royal London bring a regular rotation of musicians to RLH