Art and Christianity – Art and Health

Events in recent months have shone a spotlight on the NHS and hospital care in particular, but what of the place of art in these complex and diverse public spaces? Julia Porter-Pryce, a vicar in east London, talked to Catsou Roberts, Director of Vital Arts of the Barts Health NHS Trust, about delivering a visual arts programme for the wellbeing of patients, staff and the wider hospital community.

“Commissioning site-specific, patient-responsive and context-sensitive work is key. We work in terms of art strategies for each hospital, and then strategies for individual services within the hospitals. The process always begins by meeting with the clinical teams running the particular ward, or unit, where art is to be commissioned. As well as looking at the physical space, we learn from our clinical colleagues about the patients using the service: demographics, frequency of visits, accompanying family. We learn about the conditions being treated and possible diagnoses. We try to imagine the likely emotional states experienced in the space, in orderto get a sense of how an artwork might function and how it might be received. We look at the area holistically and consider the patient journey: from first impressions crossing the threshold, through to reception, waiting and treatment areas, to discharge and exit. We determine the practical possibilities of how an artwork can best be integrated into the space, and we develop an approach, while at the same time reeling through a list of over a thousand artists on our radar.”