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The Kingfisher

PROJECT INTRODUCTION

Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust 

Location: The Kingfisher (New Build), Bristol 

Engaging with an entirely new mental health service for autistic people and people with a learning disability, accessible and inventive workshops have led to the creation of sensitive and intuitive artworks that are designed to support the wellbeing and sensory needs of those receiving care. 

Artists involved: Peter Adjaye, Rubbena Aurangzeb-Tariq, Hannah Brown, Victoria Cantons, Dhaqan Collective, Christopher Hartmann, Mohammed Imran Khan (ActionSpace), Louise Morgan (AIM), Julian Opie, Phil Root, Chris Rose (AIM), Veronica Ryan, Boo Saville

 

By the Numbers (to Sept 2025)

  • Total Participants: 191 (comprising 147 service users and 44 staff).
  • Creative Workshops: 22 delivered to date.
  • Engagement: Workshops consistently score 10/10 for ‘Inclusion’.
  • Target: 11 permanent artworks.
  • Partnerships: With ActionSpace, AIM and the Bristol Autism Spectrum Service ensured lived experience was at the forefront of artist selection and creative programming.

Voices from the Project

“Each participant found their own way to engage with the session and we all worked on one collaborative artwork together – a great way of working for this group.” — Staff Member, AWFT South West

“It is an excellent way to bring people of different values together to discuss ideas, create artistic ideas, and work on them together.” — Workshop Participant, Bristol

“I am really grateful to Hospital Rooms for helping to imagine and facilitate these experiences for us and to give us the opportunity to inspire artists to produce something that will hopefully in the future help on someone’s journey towards healing and recovery within the Kingfisher service.”— Ben Stunell, Autism Peer Mentor, Bristol

 

Overall Impact
The project has prioritised reaching vulnerable groups, including a nature-based weaving workshop for Bristol’s refugee community led by the Dhaqan Collective. By using structured prompts and mindfulness-based activities, the team is ensuring that the final artworks will be inclusive of diverse sensory needs and communication styles.

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Project curator team

Louis Caseley

Project Curator

Louis is a medium-height white man with brown curly hair, his pronouns are he/him. He was born and raised in London.

As participation lead, Louis supports on running projects with a key focus on engagement and accessibility for service users and artists. Louis has worked with Hospital Rooms since 2019 having previously worked as an arts facilitator, art technician and illustrator in various settings. Louis’ favourite artist is Mike Kelley and he likes shopping on eBay.

Hospital Rooms Bristol Project in partnership with Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. Supported by Arts Council England and the Hiscox Foundation. Our cultural Partners are Arnolfini, ActionSpace, Art in Motion and Spike Island. Research Partner is University of the West of England Bristol.