Our Impact

Take Refuge captures a powerful collaboration between Hospital Rooms and the world-renowned The Kingdom Choir, led by Karen Gibson MBE. Through a series of creative workshops, the Choir worked with NHS staff from the Global Majority at Goodmayes Hospital, creating spaces filled with song, joy and connection within the working day. The project culminated in a live performance at Whitechapel Gallery during the opening of Joy Gregory’s exhibition, Catching Flies with Honey. The film celebrates the healing and unifying power of music, and now lives on permanently at Goodmayes Hospital, offering a lasting symbol of refuge, creativity and collective strength within the NHS

This short animated film by artists Mo Fadera and Siphiwe Mnguni, Hospital Rooms’ Public Programmes Curator, offers a glimpse into how the charity began and showcases some of the incredible artworks created in collaboration with artists and mental health service users over the years. From small, single-ward projects to transforming entire hospitals with extraordinary art, Hospital Rooms has redefined what mental health spaces can be. Through ambitious projects and the free, national Digital Art School, we continue to challenge the idea that clinical environments must be cold and sterile. We are deeply grateful to the artists, collaborators, and supporters who believe in this mission—because everyone deserves access to inspiring, uplifting spaces.

This film shows the extraordinary artworks created for locked mental health units by world-class artists and their impact. “Our patients have loved this process. Some, who have never before engaged in art have cut their leave short to attend sessions, others have wept tears of joy, described the workshops as ‘the best day of their lives’ and told us the sessions have eased times of utter despair.” – Staff Member, Hellingly Centre

This film introduces artist Harold Offeh’s work at Eileen Skellern 1 (ES1), a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit for women in London, UK. ES1 provides semi-secure hospital care for women who have severe and on- going mental illnesses. Harold worked with patients at the unit to create photographs of the rainbow effects created when engine oil and rainwater mix together on paving. His striking and transformative artworks remind us of the possibility for the everyday and overlooked to be spectacular and beautiful.