Grampian Hospitals Art Trust: helping NHS staff find their creative voice
As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, Grampian Hospitals Art Trust (GHAT) asked themselves 'How can we support NHS staff through this?'
GHAT came up with the idea of giving Grampian NHS staff a creative platform to share positive stories, hope for the future and in some cases, vent through their own exhibition in the Suttie Arts Space, GHAT’s purpose built 24-hour gallery - the only one of its kind in a hospital setting in the UK.
“Along with many other organisations, GHAT had to think very quickly in March 2020 in order to continue our work to make a meaningful difference to the people we support. Within the last 18 months the GHAT team stepped up to the mark and have created so many innovative approaches to arts and health – I am immensely proud of the work we have achieved.”
- Sally Thomson, Director, Grampian Hospitals Art Trust
Image: Courtesy of GHAT
The ‘Sayings in the Suttie’ initiative invited NHS staff to write on the walls of the gallery and to share their inner thinking around the experience of working through the pandemic.
Image: Courtesy of GHAT
What were their hopes and dreams once this was all over? What sustained them through the darkest days of 2020?
GHAT created a safe place for creative participation, one that allowed people to explore, have fun and to let off steam.
‘Sayings in the Suttie’ gave a voice to all NHS Grampian staff, some of whom sometimes go unheard, with powerful words and small drawings being added to the exhibition throughout the day and night and the NHS struggled to cope with the pressures of the pandemic.
“I’m going to hug everyone…you have been warned.”
“We can do this, we rock!”
“Never let my grandbabies out of my arms.”
“Live as I have never lived before.”
Messages from staff as part of Sayings in the Suttie
With the country back in a second lockdown and the North-East winter bite in the air, GHAT then took the artwork outside, commissioning Moray-based visual artist Graeme Roger to develop a digital artwork using the quotes from the exhibition.
Then, working with audio-visual company Warpro, the work was projected across the NHS multi story car park.
NHS workers could see their words and their dreams writ large across the buildings where they work to protect us all.
Image: Courtesy of GHAT
Image: Courtesy of GHAT
“I’m just away to start my shift at intensive care and this is exactly what I needed!”
“This has made my night, really tough shift last night.”
“I’m thankful for…my colleagues…yes, there you go, I’m thankful for you.”
What staff said about the digital artwork
Through ‘Sayings in the Suttie’, GHAT aimed to use art and creativity to help NHS staff express themselves at a time of crisis and to remind us all, and themselves, of their true value.
Sayings in the Suttie is part of GHAT’s ‘Amplify’ project led by Creative Producer Rafaela Sales Ross. Engagement with art is central to GHAT’s work, boosting wellbeing and positive experiences. Through this exhibition, GHAT tapped into NHS staff creativity, providing an invaluable creative outlet at a time of great pressure and challenge.
“The Sayings in the Suttie" created an escape valve for NHSG staff and gives us a real insight to the impact of the pandemic on those working within hospitals”
- Sally Thomson, Director
Grampian Hospitals Art Trust
Image: Courtesy of GHAT
Grampian Hospitals Art Trust (GHAT) is an award-winning arts and health organisation which exists to enhance the wellbeing and experience of all who spend time in NHS Grampian hospitals.
Their goal is, through art and creativity, to make patients feel cared for, staff feel valued and visitors feel comforted.
GHAT delivers its work in the challenging setting of hospital environments, through their extensive Art Collection, which currently amasses over four thousand artworks, and through the Artroom project, which provides patients with high-quality art sessions delivered by local artists. GHAT designed and built the first arts space in a hospital in the UK, The Suttie Arts Space.
The Suttie’s exhibition programme has commissioned over 40 different works and provided local and international artists a much-needed platform.
The gallery is open 24/7 which has been especially beneficial to NHS staff during the pandemic as they can take time out at any point in the day.