Patients, staff and internationally recognised artists have transformed communal spaces at Sunflowers Court, a mental health inpatient unit run by North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT), creating vibrant artworks on hospital walls and on buildings, designed to make the hospital feel more welcoming, hopeful and supportive of recovery.

Delivered in partnership with arts and mental health charity Hospital Rooms, the project has transformed the courtyard, café and hospital walls with 13 new artworks inspired by themes of home, identity and collective joy. The project reflects NELFT's commitment to relational care, recognising the importance of the quality of relationships and the environments in which care is delivered.

Created through workshops, the artworks were created and shaped by the experiences and ideas of service users and staff, with a particular focus on reflecting and celebrating the diversity of the communities served by NELFT.

Over the course of the project, Hospital Rooms delivered 36 creative workshops involving 291 participations. Participants rated the inclusivity of the workshops 9.9 out of 10, demonstrating the importance of creating welcoming and accessible opportunities for creative expression.

The opening celebration event brought together service users, staff and artists including Alvin Kofi, Lakwena Maciver, Mac Collins, Toby Ziegler, Rubbena Aurangzeb-Tariq and Johanna Harries to reflect on what the bright, colourful spaces meant to people.

Sarah Dracass, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Mental Health said:

This has been a transformative development in the look and feel of our mental health inpatient unit. 

The results have delivered an uplifting environment that encourages thought and discussion amongst us all and brighten the world in a small way. We could not have wished for a more dynamic, creative group of artists to work with.

 

Niamh White, Co-Founder of Hospital Rooms, said:

For the past decade, Hospital Rooms has worked alongside artists and NHS mental health services to demonstrate what is possible when creativity is placed at the heart of care. Projects like Sunflowers Court show how art can help create environments that feel more welcoming, hopeful and human. We are deeply grateful to the staff, service users and artists who helped shape this work. The result is not simply a collection of artworks, but a shared expression of identity, creativity and belonging that will support the community for years to come.

 

 Some of the feedback we have had from our service users, visitors and staff:

A stunning array of artworks - offering colour and visual stimulation to an otherwise bleak setting. Just wonderful.

 

Glorious and inspiring!

 

Seeing the before photos, you realised how bleak these spaces would be.

 

The thought, the discussions that come from people gathering and looking at the work. Thinking about what the space would be like if the artwork wasn't there. Really makes a difference.

 

The initial workshop and brainstorming session was exciting and very well run and facilitated. The artist and the facilitator are very professional and took great care to listen and discuss the workshop members' ideas. I thought the final work in the hospital reflected the overall views of those who participated. I look forward to future events hosted by your wonderful team. Thank you for allowing me to take part.

 

From what can sometimes be a bleak environment, the artworks are thoughtful, colourful and provoke varied responses. I appreciated the different approaches of artists such as Joy Labinjo, Lonnie Holley and Alvin Kofi – varied in practice, yet still showing an astute connection to the environment.

 

Hospital Rooms is leading a national charity to make sure everyone has access to arts and culture within mental health services, particularly for communities most impacted by mental health inequalities.

This project demonstrates how creative partnerships can support more inclusive, therapeutic environments and reinforce the importance of dignity, belonging and recovery within mental health care.