Bethlem Gallery

As many of you will know by now, we have closed Bethlem Gallery to the public and suspended our events programme until further notice. This is following advice from UK Government and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust regarding the most proactive and measured ways to contain COVID-19 (Coronavirus). Our office hours continue to… Read more »

Bethlem Gallery and Museum will be closed temporarily to all visitors as of 5pm Friday March 13th 2020 until further notice. We will also be suspending our respective events programmes. We have reached this difficult but important decision based in part on the latest guidance from Government to delay the spread of Coronovirus and the proactive… Read more »

This project is now open to anyone who identifies as living with bipolar Artist Beth Hopkins has been commissioned to create artwork that explores the experience of having bipolar and writing an advance directive to make decisions about her care. She has been looking at issues of insight, choice and power relations and now she… Read more »

Bethlem Gallery Job title: Gallery Director Reports to:  Chair, Bethlem Gallery Trustees Direct reports: 3 plus volunteers Location: Bethlem Royal Hospital Hours: Full time (37.5 hours per week, including some evening and weekend work) Salary: up to £45k   Overall role purpose Working closely with the Board of Trustees and a small group of staff,… Read more »

As part of the exhibition Through Practice at the ORTUS, we are running an exciting series of events…  

Dr Trudi Seneviratne speaks about transitions, the theme of our current exhibition created in collaboration with the Mother and Baby Unit, Bethlem Royal Hospital looking at identity and the everyday, framed by the complex challenges experienced during the transition to motherhood. Artists Esther Maxwell-Orumbie and Sarah Carpenter have been working with service users and staff to create… Read more »

Join us for a walk around the stunning grounds of the Bethlem Royal Hospital with artist Charlie Fox in collaboration with our partners, the Bethlem Museum of the Mind. Find out about the history of the Bethlem Royal Hospital, the original ‘Bedlam’ after it moved to Beckenham in 1930. We ask what used to be here before… Read more »

Saturday 2nd November 12:30-2pm Drop-in, no need to book Bethlem Gallery   Dolly & Chas are on the border of mad heaven. Border controls check to see whether people are sufficiently mad enough to go in. Dolly is dressed as the doctor in charge; Chas is the pharmacist who has morphed into a non-binary cyber… Read more »

Saturday 26th October 2pm–3:30pm Bethlem Museum of the Mind, Wolfson Room Denise McKenna, co-founder of the Mental Health Resistance Network will be delivering the annual Robert Dellar Memorial lecture. Co-founder of Mad Pride, Robert Dellar was a talented writer, survivor, advocate and activist for improvements in mental health services, and was a key force behind… Read more »

Saturday, 5 October 2019 10:30 – 12:30 Bethlem Studio Make your voice heard! Join us to make your own protest placard or banner. Pick a cause you are passionate about, be it the environment, human rights or mental health rights, create a slogan and use stencils, paint and tape to get your message out there…. Read more »

Saturday, 7 September 2019 10:30 – 12:30 Bethlem Gallery studio What makes you mad? Join us to print your own protest t-shirt. Inspired by our new exhibition ‘Art and Protest – what’s there to be mad about?’ we will be designing our own slogans and stencilling them onto t-shirts. Bring along your own t-shirt to… Read more »

  Saturday 31 August 3pm – 5pm Bethlem Gallery studio   Join artists, researchers and invited guests to test the idea that ‘not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted’.   How do evaluation frameworks work and whose values do they prioritise? Have your say.   We will also be launching the… Read more »

Risograph printing workshop with Beth Hopkins Saturday 6 July 10:30am – 12:30pm Bethlem Gallery Studio How do we measure our wellbeing? Join us to explore and redefine how mental health is measured and communicated. Building on the themes of the current exhibition, ‘Art & Value’, we will design our own new systems of measure. We… Read more »

Mixed-media workshop with Beth Hopkins Saturday 3 August 10:30am-12:30pm Bethlem Gallery Studio Join us to add value to found objects in this mixed-media workshop. Find out how weaving and re-fashioning discarded objects can transform them into something of value. BOOK HERE

Workshop Friday 14 June 12pm- 2pm Free but booking required Bethlem Gallery In today’s world of visual stimulation and sensory overload, how do we decipher what information might be of value to us? Join us for a collage/ mixed media workshop deconstructing, manipulating, and reconstructing visual data in order to change its intended meaning and… Read more »

Thursday 13 June 1-3pm Free, booking required Meet at the Bethlem Gallery and Museum foyer   Join Bethlem Wood Library on a walk to the beautiful Bethlem meadows to take part in a meadow vegetation survey. Make use of the lenses, identification books and the knowledge of local amateur botanist, Peter Robinson, to record the… Read more »

Family workshop Thursday 18 April 2-4pm Free Bethlem Gallery studio Come along to an afternoon of playing with paint. In this family workshop we will be experimenting with a range of materials to see what marks they make – string, feather, bubble wrap, loo rolls and more. We will also be creating a large painting… Read more »

Saturday 1 June 10:30am – 12:30pm Bethlem Gallery studio   Join us to experiment with charcoal. Inspired by the work of exhibiting artist John O’Donnell, we will be working with texture, movement, tone and pattern. There will be a series of quick exercises before moving on to drawing a portrait model in charcoal. Please bring… Read more »

Saturday 6 April 10.30am – 12.30pm Gallery Studio   Join us to learn the basics of acrylic portrait painting. Inspired by the work of exhibiting artist John O’Donnell, we will be painting expressive portraits direct from a model. We will be experimenting with light, tone and colour, using minimal brushstrokes to define shape and form…. Read more »

Saturday 4 May 10.30am – 12.30pm Gallery Studio   Join us to learn the basics of acrylic portrait painting. Inspired by the work of exhibiting artist John O’Donnell, we will be painting expressive portraits direct from a model. We will be experimenting with light, tone and colour, using minimal brushstrokes to define shape and form…. Read more »

Artist as Research #2 Saturday 2 March Bethlem Gallery 1pm – 5pm You are warmly invited to participate in our second ‘Artist as Researcher’ workshop. Join us to try out our newly-installed Risograph printer and to make our questions about mental health and justice public. Please book your place here. To find out more about the… Read more »

Realm A collaborative exhibition by Hazel Brill, Richard Downes and Mr X. Realm is a new way of working with our longstanding partners at Outside In and CGP London, where we bring 3 artists together to develop a new body of work, following an intensive residency on-site at the gallery. The residency starts on 5 March… Read more »

Think Tank: A Bethlem Salon Thursday 21st March 5-7pm Bethlem Gallery Join artist Eleanor Minney, Professor Liz Tunbridge and artist-researcher Michaela Ross for a salon discussion with people involved in the mental health care system. Together we will explore some of the central questions and provocations from the exhibition Switching Perceptions and add our perspectives… Read more »

Friday 8 March 10.30am – 12.30pm Gallery Studio In collaboration with our friends Adamson Collection Trust   Join us on International Women’s Day to explore the work of a little-known artist, Gwyneth Rowlands. A patient at a psychiatric hospital for 35 years, she collected and painted over 200 flints. Guided by artist researchers, you will… Read more »

Bethlem Salon: Looking Back on Our Future Likes   Saturday 26thJanuary 2019 11.00am – 4.00pm   Join us for an open studio session (11.00am – 1.00pm) to work with the themes of the exhibition. & for an informal discussion (3.00pm – 4.00pm) about art, young people and the way we live our lives on and… Read more »

Saturday 2 March 10.30am – 12.30pm Gallery Studio   In this workshop we will have Dr. Tunbridge with us, as well as a selection of human brain tissue samples, slides and neuron imagery. Join us for gentle drawing exercises inspired by the scientific specimens, as well as an opportunity to ask Liz your science related… Read more »

Saturday 2 February 10.30am – 12.30am Gallery Studio Inspired by the text-based works that exhibiting artist Eleanor Minney created with patients on the National Psychosis Unit, join us to develop personality postcards or pieces of experimental writing using words cut from second-hand books. No previous art experience necessary, all welcome. Under 16’s must be accompanied… Read more »

Bethlem Wood Library is working on Bethlem Gallery’s Mental Health and Justice project. This is the first year of a four year, Wellcome funded provision for public engagement. Our artists with lived experience programme will be focused on two concepts that have been central to the mental health reform movement: the concept of support in decision-making and… Read more »

We are very happy to announce the artists who will lead on this first year of Bethlem Gallery’s Mental Health and Justice project.  They are: Bethlem Wood Library Mark Titchner OOMK Re:create Psychiatry Vacuum Cleaner We presented the artist programme for this year to the researchers at the annual colloquium held at the Wellcome Collection… Read more »

Art. Discussion. Tea. Saturday 29th September Bethlem GalleryThis event is free and open to everyone but, because of limited capacity, please rsvp at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-do-we-why-do-we-tickets-501177946733-4pm – Art in action around the Bethlem site.Bethlem Wood Library will be inviting participants to join them in making on site. For the last 10 years Bethlem Wood Library has been investigating the potential… Read more »

Thursday 5 July 12:00 – 14:30 Bethlem Gallery   What does the NHS mean to you? Join us for a workshop exploring your experiences of the NHS, led by writer David Gilbert and artist Beth Hopkins.  Through creative writing we will explore your perspectives into what matters in the NHS, healthcare and wellbeing. We’ll then convert the words… Read more »

We are delighted to announce that 9 Bethlem Artists have work hanging in the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts This year our Patron, Grayson Perry, was curating the exhibition and facilitated Bethlem Artists, amongst other artists who had never shown in mainstream spaces before, to submit their work. The historic show is… Read more »

Venue: Long Gallery Maudsley 2 July – 28 September This exhibition provides an alternative celebration of the NHS at 70. It reveals perspectives of the people at the centre of our hospitals, the subjects of their work, and the environments within which they were making, from 1948 to the present day. We present a unique chance… Read more »

Sat 2nd June 10:30am – 12pm Gallery Studio Join us to make a new kind of self portrait. Inspired by John M’s powerful drawings in the IN/DI/VISIBLE exhibition, we will begin by drawing ourselves, then cutting out particular features and transforming them with collage. We’ll play with the relationships between mark making, shape and colour,… Read more »

Saturday 26th May  10.30am – 12.30pm   Join us for an informal discussion about artists’ use of public and private archives. Explore ways in which archives can be used to develop and reflect on your own practice. In conversation: Teresa Cisneros, cultural producer and Daniel Regan, artist and exhibitor in IN/DI/VISBLE.   Teresa Cisneros is a Chicana (Mexican-American)… Read more »

Join us for an exciting afternoon with Artists Larry Achiampong and David Blandy. The discussion after the screening will be chaired by David A. Bailey. Bethlem Salon #9: Finding Fanon 26 May, 3.30 – 5pm   The Bethlem Salon Series brings together artists, academics and clinicians to think about a particular theme. Salon #9 offers a screening of Larry… Read more »

Saturday 5th May 1-5pm at Bethlem Gallery With Laura Palmer, Ed Thornton and Tim A Shaw Free and open to all – no booking needed Understanding human need is particularly relevant task for modern times. Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ is the dominant theoretical model referenced in social policy, pedagogy, advertising and clinical practice and remains… Read more »

7 April 10.30 am – 12  pm Gallery Studio   Join artist Esther Maxwell-Orumbie for a morning of lino cutting and printing. We will be creating our own images taking inspiration from African masks. Esther will share her own practice and guide you through the processes of printing. Esther is exhibiting her work in IN/DI/VISIBLE… Read more »

We are very excited to announce we have been awarded a grant from the Wellcome Trust for four years to commission artists with lived experience to work with researchers from Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London on the complex and important area of mental health and justice. Winning this grant means the… Read more »

                    Wednesday 21 February 2018 5:30pm – 7:30pm   Join us for the launch of our writer-in-residence David Gilberts’ latest pamphlet: Elephants (Fragile) published by Cinnamon Press. The humane poems in Elephants (Fragile) chronicle a journey through mental illness, including takes on the workings of the… Read more »

Join us at Bethlem Gallery for a seasonal session of wreath making, using materials provided by the stunning grounds of Bethlem Royal Hospital. Led by artist Matthew, who will be on hand to offer his expertise in how to make your wreath look perfect, this 3 hour DIY workshop will give you a wonderful insight… Read more »

Join us for one of our final events as part of our September exhibition It’s how well you bounce in collaboration with Tate Exchange.   Time Well Spent Sunday 3rd December 14:00 – 18:00 Free   Tate Exchange, Level 5, Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG How are ideas of time and productivity related to our mental health? Organised in… Read more »

To mark World Mental Health Day 2017 Bethlem Gallery Artist Kim has written a poem.    Yesterday was painful But also beautiful Too unbearable Also bliss You see a summer falls to winter, There are transitional seasons But it’s the cold and the hot days you remember It’s world mental health day! I’ve been mentally… Read more »

A RE:CREATE Psychiatry project questioning notions of resilience in the therapeutic encounter. The aim of this project is to provide a platform for unheard and marginalised voices in mental health services and connect them to a wider community. To start a conversation between patients on SLaM Wards and Service Users in the Community at The… Read more »

Join us at the Bethlem Gallery this summer for some groundbreaking new theatre. Today’s lesson is about love, heartbreak and The Little Mermaid. Chris Woodley’s autobiographical solo show The Soft Subject (A Love Story) invites us back into the classroom to learn about loss, survival, and Brazil nuts! In this highly-energetic, pop-fuelled, heart-on-the-sleeve account, Woodley… Read more »

Celebrate our 20th birthday in style and join in on any of our exciting events this summer…   Project ALCHEMY Saturday 1 July 3 – 5pm Ismail Ali (Project ALCHEMY) will install a combined laboratory & theatre activating our limited edition anniversary mugs. Apply special formulae & technical process. Inject infusiasm. Create hot/cold brewed solutions… Read more »

  Join us for workshops and events in June with artist Beth Hopkins as part of her exhibition Traces. Lost and found: Book making workshop 3 June, 10am – 12pm Join artist Beth Hopkins to make a concertina book around the theme of lost and found, or objects left behind. Bring an object you have… Read more »

Saturday 6th May 1-3pm Bethlem Gallery Join us for a cup of tea and a round table debate with The Artist Taxi Driver to explore his distinct multidisciplinary art practice that includes performance, video, painting, critical debate and interventions into the media.   You can view The Artist Taxi Driver’s videos here and some of his… Read more »

Come and celebrate springtime and join us for our egg decorating workshop. Draw, paint, collage, mixed media. All ages welcome. 7 April, 10am – 12pm Book here

Join us for an artists’ self-publishing workshop as part of the exhibition Thinking Society: Art and Social Psychiatry A workshop exploring combinations of image and text. Make your perspective on the world public! Saturday 1 April 2 – 5pm Book here

Sat Feb 4, 1 – 5pm We are making an alternative archive. Join us on Saturday 4 February 1 – 5pm. Bring your own images of nursing/care or work with our collection. Drop-in collage activity – all welcome.

If you haven’t seen the Wellcome Collection’s Bedlam: Asylum and Beyond don’t forget to catch it this week! It’s on until 15 January. We would like to extend a big thank you to the Wellcome team for their support and generosity. It’s been a real privilege for the Bethlem Gallery and Museum to collaborate with the Wellcome… Read more »

14 December, 11am – 1pm Join us at Bethlem Gallery for a collaborative Christmas workshop. This workshop gives you the chance to contribute to the creation of a festive garland that will be displayed on the Bethlem Royal Hospital grounds over the festive period. You will be sharing the experience with a range of people who will… Read more »

3 December, 2 – 4pm   Join us at Bethlem Gallery for a seasonal session of wreath making, using materials provided by the stunning grounds of Bethlem Royal Hospital. Led by artist Matthew, who will be on hand to offer his expertise in how to make your wreath look perfect, this 2 hour DIY workshop… Read more »

OPEN WORKSHOP Saturday 26th November, 11.00 – 15.30 Bethlem Royal Hospital. SEMINAR DISCUSSION Thursday 1st December, 17.30 – 20.00 Studio 288, Goldsmiths College, Art Education Building, 288 New Cross Rd. Details of workshop & speakers: http://bethlemartstudio.weebly.com/work-with-me-the-ethics-of-collaboration.html To book tickets, please visit our Eventbrite page: Open Workshop Seminar Discussion Bethlem Salon #7 is a collaboration between the Bethlem Gallery… Read more »

The ‘Raving’ and ‘Melancholy’ Debates 26th October, 4.30-7pm Curated by Dr Deji Ayonrinde, Consultant Psychiatrist Join us for the inaugural event in a specially curated programme of debates designed to promote active dialogue about national and global issues relevant to mental health, the arts and culture within the world’s oldest psychiatric institution, the Bethlem Royal… Read more »

You are warmly invited to an informal workshop at the Bethlem to talk about images of nursing and the ‘art’ of care. We are particularly interested in hearing the perspectives of nurses who used to work in mental health settings, but all are welcome!   Friday 30th September, 4-6pm The Bethlem Gallery Bethlem Royal Hospital Monks Orchard… Read more »

Join us for talks, walks, workshops and artistic encounters this Autumn SPACE IN MIND – FREE A three-day symposium exploring the intersections of art, architecture, psychiatry and geography DAY 1: ASYLUM TOPOGRAPHIES Thursday 22nd September, 16.30 – 20.00 DAY 2: SITE – BODY – VOICE Friday 23rd September, 16.30 – 20.00 DAY 3: CONTESTED SITES… Read more »

Bedlam: Asylum and Beyond opens this week at the Wellcome Collection 15 September 2016 – 15 January 2017   Follow the rise and fall of the mental asylum and explore how it has shaped the complex landscape of mental health today. Reimagine the institution, informed by the experiences of the patients, doctors, artists and reformers who… Read more »