In 2019, Outset, in partnership with Saja Foundation, supported an inspiring series of workshops at the Royal London Hospital, engaging both long and short-term patients.
Developed and led by artist Shiraz Bayjoo, the programme brought therapeutic, interactive projects directly to patients, reducing stress and assisting clinical goals. Patients and local residents had the opportunity to access new art and discover the transformative power of creativity, which they might not otherwise access.
My Journey and Other Stories saw young patients explore emotional storytelling through drawing, painting, and collage-making. Using INIVA emotional learning cards - which encourage emotional literacy and challenge ideas about who can make art - students explored how colour, forms, and textures can be used to express the way we feel and understand ourselves.
Through painted abstract landscapes patients created emotional spaces that unravel moments of hardship, courage and overcoming, as well as moments of wonder and celebration. This was layered with textures, patterns, maps, and collages that described and alluded to wider experiences of the world.
The resulting works were collated by Shiraz Bayjoo and reproduced as framed prints for an exhibition for the Creativity and Wellbeing Week at the Royal London Hospital in June 2019.
These workshops have been organised as part of an extensive Patient Participation Programme, produced by Vital Arts. This programme brought therapeutic, interactive projects directly to patients.
This initiative was part of Outset’s partnership with the Saja Foundation, which payed homage to Saja Tourbah Dada with a mission to help people through the power of art, by supporting artists and providing art therapy in hospitals and supporting emerging artists. Developed and led by artist Shiraz Bayjoo, through Vital Arts, the workshops were devised in collaboration with Art Night.
ABOUT:
Shiraz Bayjoo is a London-based artist whose practice spans painting, photography, and video. Originally from Mauritius, Bayjoo studied at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff. His practice considers ideas of nationhood and the exploration of identity and histories through the use of photographs and artefacts stored in public and personal archives. Bayjoo was Artist in Residence at Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK during 2011. His recent exhibitions include the ‘Sharjah Biennial 14’, UAE, 2019, ‘Shiraz Bayjoo: Searching for Libertalia’, New Art Exchange, Nottingham, 2019, ‘Rome being the centre’, Operativa Arte, Rome, 2016.
Launched in 2018 in memory of Saja Tourbah Dada, The Saja Foundation aims to bring art therapy to cancer wards and support emerging artists. Working closely with Outset Contemporary Art Fund, harnessing their expertise and knowledge of the UK and international art world. Saja aims to create a legacy by supporting artists in public institutions and facilitate the acquisition of their works to museums and galleries internationally.
In a cyclical scheme, Saja also wants to make an investment in people to do good. As a result, the supported artists and students will contribute to the Charity’s goals through involvement in art workshops at cancer wards in the UK and Lebanon. Additionally, a percentage of the funding will be used to provide professional art therapists. Our aim is to provide an artistic outlet for children and young adults to cope with the serious hardships that are associated with cancer.
Vital Arts is the arts organisation for Barts Health NHS Trust, charitably funded to deliver art projects that enhance the hospital environment and, in turn, improve the patient experience. With five hospitals in east London—The Royal London, St Bartholomew’s (Barts), Mile End, Whipps Cross, and Newham University Hospital—and over 2.5 million patients, we view these important civic spaces as ideal places to introduce new audiences to contemporary art.
We offer patients, staff and visitors meaningful cultural encounters which they might not otherwise access. This engagement frequently proves inspiring and mind-opening, thus making time within hospital more positive. Founded in 1996, Vital Arts has developed an international reputation for producing award-winning projects and pioneering art programmes that encourage interaction with contemporary art, support wellbeing, and transform the clinical experience.
Barts Health is the largest NHS trust in the country, and one of Britain’s leading healthcare providers. The Trust’s five hospitals – St Bartholomew’s Hospital in the City, including the Barts Heart Centre, The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, Newham University Hospital in Plaistow, Whipps Cross University Hospital in Leytonstone and Mile End – deliver high quality compassionate care to the 2.5 million people of east London and beyond.
Art Night is London’s largest free contemporary art festival, transforming the city annually for one unforgettable night. Each year, Art Night invites a leading cultural institution or curator to explore the history, culture and architecture of a different part of London, inspiring a series of new commissions, one off events and premieres by international and local artists from all stages of their careers. Alongside this, the Art Night Open programme offers local organisations, independent artists and curators the opportunity to take part in the festival — responding to the curatorial ideas and cultural trail. Art Night contributes to the UK’s art sector through its Legacy programme, which delivers co-commissions, acquisitions for public collections and prolonged display periods — enabling broader audiences to enjoy the programme, year-round.
The festival was conceived and founded by Ksenia Zemtsova and Philippine Nguyen.
Art Night is administrated by ArtCity Nights, a registered charity no 1164449.
