A legacy of creative participation

Over the years, Vital Arts has delivered a diverse range of participatory arts projects across Barts Health NHS Trust, offering patients meaningful, creative experiences during their hospital stays. These initiatives have spanned music, theatre, film, visual arts, and literature - all designed with inclusivity, imagination, and wellbeing at their heart.

Children’s wards came alive with projects Spill the Magic Beans with Apples and Snakes, a storytelling and installation project inspired by myths and nature; and Comedy Club 4 Kids, which brought professional comedians to deliver side-splitting performances tailored for young audiences. Film Club empowered young patients to script, shoot, and edit their own short films, giving voice to their unique perspectives and experiences.

For adult patients, including those living with dementia or receiving long-term care, programmes like Musical Favourites (in collaboration with the City of London Sinfonia) delivered live classical performances to the bedside; Spoken Word Workshops invited patients to write and share poetry and personal reflections; and Music in Hospitals & Care featured intimate concerts by professional musicians, creating calming, uplifting environments across wards.

Projects such as One Moment in Time, a theatre-based workshop including beautifully crafted puppet theatre, live music, one to one bedside storytelling and puppet making, and Archive Adventures with Whitechapel Gallery, which used historical hospital artefacts as creative prompts, helped patients reflect and reconnect with their identities. Meanwhile, Fun Palaces celebrated community-led creativity in hospitals through drop-in art, science, and performance activities open to all.

Together, these initiatives showcase Vital Arts’ enduring commitment to arts participation that uplifts, connects, and transforms hospital environments for patients of all ages and backgrounds.