Our Story
Tim A Shaw & Niamh White, Hospital Rooms Co-Founders
Artist Tim A Shaw and curator Niamh White founded Hospital Rooms after a close friend was sectioned and admitted to a mental health hospital. On visiting her, they were shocked to find that the hospital environment was cold and clinical at a time when she was so vulnerable. Having worked in the arts for 10 years each, they felt they had the skills and community to be able to transform these spaces with high quality artworks.
In 2016, Dr Emma Whicher gave them the opportunity to run their first project at the Phoenix Unit, a rehabilitation unit for people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. They commissioned Nick Knight, Gavin Turk, Assemble among other world class artists to work with patients and staff to create site specific artwork for the ward. The project received national press attention and Hospital Rooms has been inundated with requests for projects ever since.
What We Do
Despite evidence to show the arts ‘can help patients maintain a sense of personal dignity and control in what are often distressing circumstances’, (The Power of Art, 2000) and a real appetite from patients to participate in artistic activity, with one patient saying ‘I would have given anything to paint,’ access to art and creativity in UK Mental Health Hospitals is extremely limited. Even those who have existing creative practices are often unable to maintain these activities due to lack of materials, capacity and understanding.
Hospital Rooms brings the highest quality artwork and creativity activity into these spaces, working with acclaimed artists to catalyse a fundamental shift in the way we consider and treat people with the most difficult of mental health diagnoses.
We are a registered charity and part of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio.
Who We Are
Northside House_Social Hub_Photo by Damian Griffiths_Courtesy of Hospital Rooms
