Shape Shift: Reflections on Art in Mental Health Settings

Curated by the mental health arts charity Hospital Rooms, in partnership with Norwich University of the Arts, this exhibition explores the profound impact of art in hospital environments, sharing the stories of artworks created through a three-year project at Hellesdon Hospital in Norwich.

Set against the backdrop of the historic Fitzrovia Chapel—the chapel for the former Middlesex Hospital—Shape Shift examines the transformative power of creativity in mental health settings. The exhibition highlights how art influences patients, hospital staff, and the very spaces within healthcare institutions.

The exhibition showcases work from acclaimed artists including Sarah Dwyer, Errol Francis, Michael Landy, Ghislaine Leung, Shepherd Manyika, Jade de Montserrat, Ken Nwadiogbu, Ṣọ́lá Olúlòde, Nengi Omuku, Fabian Peake, Heather Phillipson, Holly Sandiford, Dolly Sen, Mark Titchner, and Rosa-Johan Uddoh. Their works are situated responses, emerging from coproduction workshops with the patient and staff communities, that encapsulate personal, domestic, institutional, and clinical narratives—some in harmony, others in stark contrast—reflecting the lived experiences of those who have passed through Hellesdon Hospital and the spaces they inhabit.

The exhibition is informed by an innovative research collaboration between Hospital Rooms, Norwich University of the Arts, Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, and a Lived Experience Team of co-researchers who have critically evaluated this large-scale, multi-site arts intervention at Hellesdon Hospital. Through a series of monthly workshops utilising creative, arts-based, and material research methods, these co-researchers have engaged in an embodied retelling of both the old and new hospital spaces, giving voice to those who have lived and will live within them. This reflective work has resulted in a large-scale cyanotype and sound installation which are exhibited here, in conversation with the narrative of this project.

“This is an exhibition that tells with honesty the complexities of re-envisioning mental health clinical spaces. All the collaborative, contradictory, diverse, creative, innovative and challenging voices of the institution and the individual are given space.”

Dr Nicola Simpson, Research Fellow, Norwich University of the Arts and Hellesdon Hospital Lived Experience Team Lead.

The Hellesdon Hospital Project was made possible through a partnership between Hospital Rooms, Norwich University of the Arts and the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. It has been generously supported by COAT Paints, Hauser & Wirth, and Arts Council England, with cultural partnerships from Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery and the Sainsbury Centre.

Set within the breathtaking architecture of The Fitzrovia Chapel, Shape Shift is an unmissable exhibition that challenges perceptions, inspires thought, and transforms understanding. Step inside and experience the power of art to shift perspectives.

Exhibition Details:

Location: The Fitzrovia Chapel, 2 Pearson Square, London W1T 3BF

Opening Dates: Thursday 13 – Tuesday 25 March 2025

Opening Times:
 Monday–Saturday: 11 AM – 6 PM, 
Sunday: 12 Noon – 5 PM