Northside House | Hospital Rooms x NUA
Tuesday 16 November 2021 – Saturday 15 January 2022
Hospital Rooms are a national project transforming neutral and cold hospital environments into bright spaces with high quality artwork. Hospital Rooms, in collaboration with Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust and Norwich University of the Arts (NUA), present this exhibition showcasing their most innovative project to date. This exhibition is being held in our East GalleryNUA.
Booking information
Admission is free.
Opening hours
Tuesday – Friday: 12-5pm
Saturday: 12-4pm
The exhibition presents original artworks from service users and artists who led creative workshops at Northside House.
NHS Northside House
Northside House is a medium secure unit for men in Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) and provides care to people who have a severe and enduring mental health diagnosis and have been in touch with the criminal justice system.
This dual element often means that service users experience disproportionate stigma and, as a consequence, face a series of barriers to meaningful engagement with arts and culture.
About the project
The project has been celebrated by the Northside community for “completely transforming the culture of the ward” and pushing the boundaries of creativity within forensic services, prompting the question “why can’t we just let people be creative?”
The most poignant piece of feedback came from a service user who, inspired by the project, painted their own full scale artworks on the ward. This has been described by staff as being “absolutely unheard of in secure services”.
During the project, service users and staff participated in a series of workshops alongside critically acclaimed artists Cara Nahaul, Carl Rowe, Dexter Dalwood, Jade Montserrat, Naomi Harwin and Richard Wentworth.
The artwork
These workshops went on to inform six installations in spaces across Northside House. Inspiration came directly for some artists; Carl Rowe’s ‘BE’ originated in an artwork made by a service user with the words ‘be younique’.
Whilst others were sparked by conversations or a moment; Richard Wentworth’s visits to The Mount, an outside workshop space for service users at Northside, during the early summer months became integral to the artwork he installed on Blakeney Ward.
Support
Arts Council England, Baring Foundation, Norwich University of the Arts, NSFT.
Covid-19 safety guidance
- While we can now welcome drop-in visitors to East Gallery, we urge people to pre-book their free tickets online.
- Visits will continue be limited to 8 people per 30 minute session, and all visitors will be urged to remain at a distance of 2 meters from each other, where possible.
- Masks are still required across the university campus and will be necessary for all visitors to East Gallery, unless medically exempt.
- All visitors will be asked to sign-in to the government track and trace system via the QR code at the front desk, or leave a name and email address for contact should it be required.
- Hand sanitiser will be available in the gallery in two locations, and visitors will be required to sanitise if they wish to look at the books on display in the gallery.