Viewing Hospital Rooms: Digital Art School at Hauser & Wirth

Hospital Rooms was founded by artist Tim Shaw and curator Niamh White after a friend was sectioned and admitted to an NHS mental health hospital. Shocked by the environment their vulnerable friend was being treated in, they decided to join forces and try and transform these spaces. Since 2016 their scope has broadened as the project has gone from strength to strength as they work to benefit people with Severe Mental Illness diagnoses, commissioning artists to transform in-patient units. To date they’ve worked with artists including Julian Opie, Sonia Boyce, Anish Kapoor and Chantal Joffe.

Hospital Rooms’ latest project marks the culmination of a three year partnership with Hauser & Wirth and sees them take over the North Gallery, a physical version of their Digital Art School, which has offered free artist-run workshops and materials to every in-patient at NHS mental health sites across the country. This brings the work they’ve been doing into the centre of London for all to experience.

Working in the same manner as the Digital Art School, there are live creative sessions hosted by artists such as Abbas Zahedi, Shepherd Manyika and Eileen Cooper RA, as well as filmed art activities projected in the space led by artists and designers, including Giles Deacon, Sutapa Biswas and Sarah Dwyer. Visitors are encouraged to spend time making their own artwork in the space using the free materials available, or participate using digital devices.

The exhibition concludes with a fundraising auction taking place at Bonhman’s on 11 September, offering artworks donated by artists and supported by Gallery Circle members including Edel Assanti, TJ Boutling, Ginny on Frederick and of course Hauser & Wirth. We have our eyes on a sculptural, mixed-media work by HelenA Pritchard, an edition of ‘Wasp’ 2017 by Maisie Cousins and a very special Sutapa Biswas piece.