A Brief History of Healing Part 1

A Brief History of Healing is an evolving collaborative project which aims to enable the voice of the inpatient to be heard, tracing the patient narrative through dialogue and art making; and focusing on the value of meaningful activity and a therapeutic environment within an institutional context. BHoH is a partnership project between artist and mental health service user Gail Howard, contemporary artist led space, ArcadeCampfa and Cardiff & Vale Arts in Health Charity. Throughout the Summer of 2019, Gail has been working with patients, staff and visitors at University Hospital Llandough & Hafan y Coed Adult Mental Health Unit, running a mobile art making facility via a repurposed drugs trolley The images here are of the text based prints made by patients, staff and visitors at both hospital sites. Other activties including basket weaving, sewing, creative writing and colour mixing - all resulting work from the first stage of the project was collated and exhibited in a split site show at ArcadeCampfa and the Hearth Gallery at University Hospital Llandough, with an accompanying series of events and talks at both spaces. Alongside the main exhibition in Campfa, was a Museum of Healing - which included patient made artwork from the 1950s on loan from Glenside Museum, and archival material from the Whitchurch Hospital Historical Society, with contemporary work by Koestler Trust artist Lee Cutter and BHoH artists in residence Georgia Twigg and Alex Goodman. The BHoH project is an ongoing exploration of how art making impacts on our mental and physical health, the trolley is currently being re configured, possibly to include a loom and will be ready for BHoH Part 2 in the Spring 2020.