Yinka Shonibare CBE contributes to #100NHSRooms
In response to the current crisis, Barts Health NHS Trust is upgrading existing Staff Rooms and creating new areas in which clinical staff can find rest and respite. Aligning with these developments, charitably funded initiative #100NHSRooms was launched to support the wellbeing of both patients and hospital employees by bringing new artworks to 100 rooms across Barts Health, including St Bartholomew’s, Royal London Hospital, Whipps Cross, Mile End and Newham Hospital.
With mounting evidence demonstrating the benefits of visual arts on mental health in clinical settings, #100NHSRooms has invited selected artists to donate or create works specifically for the project. In response, Yinka Shonibare CBE has donated 'Unstructured Icons – King', a striking relief print combining woodblock and fabric collage. Many of the participating artists live in the East London area that the hospitals serve, demonstrating the strength of community and solidarity with their NHS neighbours. The works contributed will represent a lasting legacy of a commitment to the wellbeing of NHS frontline workers, recognizing the adverse effects of intense pressure during the current crisis.
Donating artists to date include: Mania Akbari & Douglas White; Charles Avery; Shiraz Bayjoo; Rana Begum; Victor Burgin; Matthew Burrows; Oliver Chanarin; Jake and Dinos Chapman; Shezad Dawood; Jeremy Deller & Fraser Muggeridge; Eloise Fornieles; Gaia Fugazza; Margarita Gluzberg; Anne Hardy; Diango Hernández; Henry Hudson; Harminder Singh Judge; Peter Liversidge; Lakwena Maciver; Marta Marcé; Haroon Mirza; Annie Morris; Yelena Popova; Yinka Shonibare; Shaan Syed; Conrad Shawcross; Grantchester Pottery; Barbara Walker; Mark Wallinger; and Catherine Yass.
The project is a charitably funded joint initiative of Vital Arts (the Arts & Health service for Barts Health NHS Trust), London-based artist Shezad Dawood and international contemporary art collection and editorial platform, Modern Forms.