Recovery College
Springfield University Hospital

Hospital Rooms collaborated with South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust to transform their  Recovery College at Springfield University Hospital. The Recovery College was the first of its kind in the UK and leads courses for students who have experienced a range of issues including self-harm, dementia, personality disorders, depression, eating disorders, schizophrenia, mood disorders, trauma or abuse.

Artist and Hospital Rooms co-founder Tim A Shaw created a temporary large scale mural for both the exterior and interior spaces of the college, and has worked with Colart to programme a series of tailored art workshops for students.

Shaw’s geometric mural leads from the outside to the inside of the building and borrows the colour schemes from key international museums such as Tate Britain, Tate Modern, MOMA, the Guggenheim, the Matisse Museum and many more. He has included a series of rectangles and squares in the design, which act as ‘frames’ for the artworks produced by students in the workshops. These artworks were created using high quality art materials that were generously donated by Colart, and hung in the same manner as the exhibitions in the museums that Shaw has referenced. The mural will be an extension of the Phoenix Gallery, a dedicated art space designed by Shaw that was created for the Phoenix Unit at SWLSTG after many service users asked for a place to exhibit their own work.

By composing a vibrant visual identity for the college, encouraging artistic activity on site and providing a meaningful place for the display of students’ artworks, we hope to support the Recovery College’s values of hope, control and opportunity.

This project rejuvenates the Recovery College building before it is relocated to a brand new facility on the Springfield site in 2020 where the artistic environments and activities will continue to be championed and facilitated with students, staff and the local community.
This project is funded by the Arts Council England and is supported with both volunteer days and art materials by international  fine art materials manufacturer Colart.