Artsparks Review January April 2017
Art at the Heart (AATH) have been running Artsparks workshops since 2008, benefiting young people between the ages of 0-18 and their families on the Children’s Ward. Each year these workshops reach and positively benefit hundreds of patients and their families and carers. The main aims of the project are to improve the time spent in hospital for younger patients at the RUH, to improve patient experience and provide opportunities for physical and mental stimulation during the recovery process. This work has become embedded into the culture of the hospital and the quality of the service is now well recognised and valued. For vulnerable patients, adapting to a stay in hospital can be a very difficult experience. Young people are separated from family, friends and school and are often much less active than they are used to. They can find themselves feeling isolated. Some experience depression, loss of appetite and insomnia, which in turn can make them more prone to infection. Between January – April 2017, artist Edwina Bridgeman delivered 2 workshops a week on the RUH Children’s Ward and worked with 118 patients in total. Furthermore, she reached an additional 60 participants, with family members and staff also getting involved in the workshop activity.
Children’s artwork - Ice-cream Parlour
Children’s artwork - Owls in the woods
Artsparks recommenced in January 2017 after a short break. The artist had a huge welcome from the play specialists and introduced a new technique of felt making into her workshops which was very popular and also very appropriate. The artist says “At one point, Archie (1) was sitting felt making opposite Matt (15) also felt making.” This demonstrates how the activity can appeal to all ages on the Children’s ward. Edwina also mentioned that one mother was anxious but really wanted to join in. She was visibly less anxious after the activity and left positive feedback. The making was described as sensory and relaxing.
“Really enjoyed making felt. It made the morning go quick.” Patient Archie (1) taking part in a felting workshop
Matt (15) felt making
The artist works with small groups in the ward playroom alongside play specialists and one-toone at children’s bedsides and activities are designed to be easy to dip in and out of. Children often start workshops shy and unsure but leave with huge smiles and an enormous sense of achievement. Inevitably this makes the whole ward a happier place. Creative workshops provide an emotional outlet, enabling the child to make friends and strengthen relationships with peers and clinicians in a creative environment of mutual support. Engagements in the arts helps young people to feel more at home, reduces stress and anxiety, and aids recovery and wellbeing. The mutual understanding of roles between the artist and clinicians has really developed, often the artist is asked to visit patients that the clinicians feel would particularly benefit from a creative session. These sessions allow young patients to talk and express themselves in a way that is unexpected but very helpful in a hospital setting. The work is always patient led; the artist is able to respond to individual needs, these might range from encouraging a parent to let a small child paint to working very closely with an adolescent who may be struggling with feelings of isolation, an eating disorder or a long term stay for treatment. Trust and building good relationships with patients and staff on the ward is extremely important. Edwina did a group felting workshop with medical students on the Children’s ward and it was a great insight for the students to see how creative activity and teamwork can lift spirits as well as give children something positive to focus on during their time in hospital.
Medical Students creating a group felt piece
“It was great to see the children interact and enjoy themselves whilst learning a new skill. I felt it allowed them to openly talk to me, with no awkwardness! It was a good giggle! Thank you.” Norland Nanny
The workshops led by the artist allow patients to use their imagination and develop their own ideas, which can then be taken home or installed in the public Artsparks gallery in Zone B which reaches an audience of 22,000 people per year.
Artsparks Gallery, West Corridor (Zone B)
Norland Nanny assisting in a workshop
Feedback is gathered from staff, parents and sometimes from young patients that have participated in the workshop. A simple feedback form is handed out at the end of a session with questions and tick boxes eg. “Did you learn a new skill?” and a space for any comments.
“The play session has made a huge difference to our stay. Our daughter’s scan was delayed and she was feeling very poorly and getting upset so keeping her mind busy was very beneficial to her physical and emotional well-being. The resources were very open ended which allowed her to be very creative.” Parent
Felt lion created by two patients
The artist clearly responds to the needs, interests and skills of the participants. There are key themes based on values of the project which include kindness, change, transformation, unexpected moments of joy and playfulness. ‘When the facilitator truly follows the child’s lead and becomes immersed in their story and their ideas, transformations take place. The playroom is a safe place where children have the opportunity to be themselves.” Artist, Edwina Bridgeman
“The Staff are lovely and caring. They put a BIG smile on my face!” Patient The art workshops create a safe and supportive space for patients to express themselves. These ‘unexpected’ creative opportunities also enables social interaction, which can be lacking in an acute clinical setting, more often seeming to be a threatening and alien experience. The artist also spends time working with day cases as well as longer term patients. In one session she worked with two day cases. She recorded her experience and wrote:- “One of the children was very nervous about her procedure and her mother was grateful for the activity and diversion. The patients created a piece of felt together and skillfully negotiated who would have which bit when it was cut in half! I realised the huge value of both patients working together, they quickly formed a friendship and were able to support each other.” Paint and felt picture
Patient Comments:
“I thought I would be sitting bored in bed” “I didn’t expect to be doing anything like this, better than my I-Pad” “These are beautiful” Having the opportunity to work creatively in hospital is hugely beneficial for both young and older patients; it is normalising and at times a welcome distraction from some of the more difficult aspects of a hospital stay.
“Thanks to this activity it helped me to relax whilst waiting for my baby to go for some medical procedures under a G.A” Parent
Children’s Artwork - Giraffe with passengers
An improved sense of wellbeing through participation in the arts is a vital aspect of this work. The focus is on embedding the importance of creativity into the daily routine of the wards and build strong relationships with the staff, resulting in a mutual understanding of each other’s roles. Through these workshops patients are often delighted to discover new skills and usually experience a sense of pride and achievement in work that they have made with the artist; the impact on confidence and self-esteem is effective and long lasting, impacting way beyond the clinical setting and staff often comment that the artists’ presence impacts positively on ward environment and routine – this impact lasts well beyond the artist’s visit.
Artworks created by patients in Artsparks workshops on the Children’s Ward with Edwina Bridgeman
Patient painting on to a window
Number of Patients Reached 40 35 30 25 20
Number of Patients Reached
15 10
Children’s artwork Felt Rainbow Lion
5 0 January
February
March
April
The artist residency for Artsparks is generously funded by St Johns Foundation. Bath Decorative & Fine Art Society (BDFAS) have kindly supported Artsparks by providing funds for good quallity art materials throughout the project . There has been some wonderful artwork produced from fascinating projects and stories have been shared with patients, visitors and staff. Children’s artwork - Window Painting
Contact: Arts Programme Manager, Hetty Dupays: hetty.dupays@nhs.net Art at the Heart of the RUH Estates and Facilities Directorate Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust Combe Park Bath, BA1 3NG Tel: 01225 824987
Web: www.artatruh.org
Twitter: @artatruh
Charity No. 1058323
Art at the Heart of the RUH has won a Creative Bath Award 2017 for its art and design programme and the Bath War Hospital heritage project was highlighted in which participants on the Children’s Ward created 3D Tapestries with Artist, Edwina Bridgeman.