In conversation with Bethlem Gallery Chair, Neil Springham

Sophie Leighton, Director, Bethlem Gallery, in conversation with Neil Springham, Chair of Bethlem Gallery, about the upcoming Online Symposium: The Art of Practice on the 15 May 2026. 

Tell me about yourself and why you became Chair of Bethlem Gallery? 
My background is in fine art. 
And after that, I studied community arts and art therapy. I was interested in those things because I really liked the connection between people and art. As an art therapist, I wanted to understand all aspects of it, including teaching, research, and then leadership. This is what brought me to my current role, which is now Chief Therapies Officer at Oxleas NHS Trust.  

The reason I wanted to become Chair at Bethlem Gallery was that I just love the arts and health work. I love the work that the gallery does. I think it fills an important gap, and I really wanted to be part of that, something that was very art-based, rather than therapy-based, to complement the other side of what I do. 

You have an event on 15 May, looking at the practice and work behind organisations like Bethlem Gallery, working in the field of mental health. Why does this symposium feel important right now? 
I think it’s very timely that we have this symposium now, because the practice base for the whole arts and health movement, particularly in relation to mental health, is emerging.  

One of the things you do when you have an emerging evidence base and practice space is you try to capture what’s happening, and doing a symposium is a really good way of both sharing, discussing, and giving it some sense of form. When we meet, we share practice, we look at things, maybe we evaluate applications. And this is how you build a subject area to become stronger.  

Secondly, the reason I think it’s important now is, and this comes from my sense of working in the NHS, that the levels of mental health demand are rising. Particularly amongst the young, where we see huge increases in distress, loneliness, and issues like self-harm. It’s not the case that therapy will address all these issues. 
We need other things to build community, to give people meaningful purpose. All these things, I think, are addressed well by the arts and health movement. 

Can you tell us more about what is going on in arts and health now? 
So, I think what’s happening in arts and health is fascinating, because it’s emerging. And I think, when things are emerging, we do need to articulate them very well, and we articulate them by having things like this symposium, so that we can communicate to funders, to the public, to people who might want to use this in their lives. We must do this so that people can gain access to this wonderful resource. 

Trained as a therapist, can you tell us what is important about organisations like Bethlem Gallery from your perspective? From my perspective, as an art therapist, I see that arts and health is a very broad spectrum, and, in a way, art therapy forms just a part of that. 
The spectrum is both broad and needed. We need all the different practises, because no one practice meets the needs of people, especially young people, today. 

Not only is there room for all, but I think we need that variety, because there are so many different types of problems that we need to address: loneliness, meaning, and community.  I think the arts and health can really, really help with all these issues. So, my hope for this symposium is that it makes everyone feel welcomed into an area where we need to collaborate and learn from each other.  

You hope that this symposium can be the start of a network or community of practice. Tell us more about this and how it might be helpful.
So, symposia are a very good way to build communities of practice. 
They are a place for different perspectives on the same sorts of issues, which really helps us to connect.  

Why is that important? It’s important, I think, because it builds a sense of what we’re doing, but also, I think, it can be tough for people practising in the arts and health, because often you practice on your own or in very small teams; it’s a new area, and it isn’t always understood. It can be lonely at times. Or at risk of being isolated. All those things are what symposiums can help with. 
 

Together, we can learn from each other, sharing practice, but we’ve also built in a listening event where we can hear what people might want in addition to this from future symposiums. 

See the full programme and sign up to join our Online Symposium: The Art of Practice on the 15 May 2026, 10am-4pm.