Nisha Dugall, Two sides of the river / wood, acrylic, agate crystal, schlag metal leaf, wallpaper / 2015

Art Strategy Project Update: New Douglas Bennet House

Bethlem Gallery has been appointed by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to develop and deliver the Art Strategy for two new clinical facilities on the Trust’s Denmark Hill Campus – a centre for adults called New Douglas Bennett House and the Pears Maudsley Centre for Children and Young People.

The Art Strategy for New Douglas Bennet House invites artists to create artwork for a  new adult centre in collaboration with the staff, service users and their loved ones. This mindset of partnership has been implemented right from the start, as artists who work with Bethlem Gallery prepared the briefs for each commission.

In February, the shortlisted artists presented their existing work to service users and staff (The Art Group) who will work in the building, who then made the decision on which artists should be appointed. In the next few months, the commissioned artists will host workshops for service users and their families. These workshops and the themes developed from them will serve as inspiration for the artworks the commissioned artists will produce for the New Douglas Bennet House.

The Art Group selected Amber Roper from Blühen studio for the family rooms, Leah Clements for the Therapy rooms, Izzy Parker-Nasir for the Main entrance and Nisha Dugall for the Inpatient communal areas:

The Artists

The Blühen studio was founded in 2017 by London artist Amber Roper, who discovered her love of weaving while studying Textile Design at Central Saint Martin University of The Arts. Her unique approach to colour, composition and texture in weaving has made her the only artist from the United Kingdom to have won the ‘Best Material Creative’ award, at the International Creative Patter Design Competition in 2014. thebluhenstudio.london

Leah Clements is an internationally renowned, multimedia artist who focuses on portraying the versality and various states of the human experience. Specifically, the things ‘that are quite difficult to put your finger on or are hard to describe’, and shared experiences that communicate the uniqueness of the individualised feelings. Actualising her passion and advocacy for accessibility and inclusivity in the Arts, Leah is also a Co-creator of Access Docs for Artists, a resource and template that guides artists on how to communicate their disability access needs to their employers. leahclements.com

Izzy Parker-Nasir is a London based artist who specialises in set design, installations and art that invokes public engagement. Art that particularly encourages participants to question and reflect on their perception of each other and themselves. For her workshops with the service users, Izzy has chosen to focus on the theme of hair and the home to stimulate conversations that will inspire her final piece for the main entrance. izzyparker.com

Nisha Dugall is a multimedia artist and filmmaker whose work focuses on highlighting the creativity in our everyday. She investigates situations that encourage the primitive need to create and connect. Her multi-faceted style of art is also reflected in the workshops that she will be facilitating, which will see participants exploring film, photography, using different sensory materials and drawing. www.nishaduggal.co.uk

 

By October, the artists will have finished their workshops with the service users and their loved ones, and their artworks will be developed and ready to be approved by the Art Group.

Update by Feyi Olubajo, Bethlem Gallery’s Trainee Producer.

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