IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NHS LOTHIAN CHARITY

Welcome to our blog, here you can keep up to date with the latest goings on in the Glasshouses Creative Hub and on the wards of the Royal Edinburgh, Western General and St John’s hospitals. Find out more about upcoming workshops and events, access our archive of Artlink’s activities across hospitals in the Lothians over the past 30 years or read our archived newsletters. If you want to know more then contact us and we will be to happy to help!

THE SPRING FLING CELEBRATION AT THE ROYAL EDINBURGH HOSPITAL

If you came across a 20 metre long inflatable worm parading through the grounds of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, what would you do?

If you answered: feed it giant carrots and apples, offer it compost and flowers, and accompany it on its promenade with drumming, music, dancing and chanting, then perhaps you were one of the many people who enjoyed the Worm Walk at the beginning of June 2022. The festival atmosphere of the Worm Walk was the culmination of months of activity that took place during the Spring Fling at the Royal Edinburgh and was a chance for the hospital community to celebrate together.

“The weirdest thing that’s happened in my decade and a half at the Royal Ed, but in a really good way. It was something for everyone to talk about!”

During Spring Fling, organisations based at the hospital, collaborated to create a programme of events including lunchtime concerts, art workshops, bird identification sessions, and a reading from acclaimed local writer Alexander McCall Smith. The events took place over several weeks and celebrated the optimism and regeneration of Spring, with many events themed around nature.

“It was just so energetic and joyful! It was wonderful. I loved it. I lost one of our volunteers. He joined the worm walk and started carrying the worm, and I just thought that was great great fun. And he said he had a fabulous time”.

The worm itself was conceived by artists Nadia Rossi and Morven Mulgrew and constructed and decorated by patients and volunteers in workshops at the Glasshouses Creative Hub, as well as workshops on the wards.