Exhibitions

Artlink presents a changing exhibition programme across four dedicated gallery spaces at the Royal Infirmary, Western General, St John’s and Royal Edinburgh Hospitals.

The exhibitions change every 3 to 4 months and display an exciting range of work; from the ever popular Hospital Open Exhibition showcasing the creative talents of patients and staff across NHS Lothian Hospitals, to photographic journeys by hospital staff, and exhibitions curated from work in the NHS Lothian Collection, local museums and community archives.

Where are the galleries?

The Royal Infirmary Pelican Gallery can be found on the ground floor south corridor just off the main mall, next to OPD4.

The Gallery at the Western General is in the ground floor link corridor between the Alexander Donald and Anne Ferguson buildings.

St John’s Hospital Gallery is on the 2nd floor next to the dining room.

A JOURNEY THROUGH PERFORMANCE

| Artlink Edinburgh

An exhibition celebrating the benefits of live entertainment within a healthcare setting, showcasing Artlink’s entertainment programme on wards.

 

The display presents some of the highlights from Miss Annabel Sings… recent ward activities programme, as well as looking back at archive images from the popular You Dancin…? project at the Western General, and Dance a Decade which celebrated the 60th anniversary of the NHS, plus information about the WGH choir.

It also invites the hospital community to get involved by asking other departments and wards to come forward to host events, and a call to members of the hospital community to come forward to volunteer and share their skills. We are on the look out for all kinds of skills… whether you love reading, poetry, storytelling, knitting, play an instrument or just like to chat, we would love to hear from you! Contact Annabel at: missannabelsings@artlinkedinburgh.co.uk

The programme of events will expand around the hospital, including performances in the exhibition space. Look out for opera singer, Magdalena Durant performing in the gallery and WRVS cafe in August.

2016 HOSPITAL OPEN SHOW: MOVEMENT

| Artlink Edinburgh

This popular annual exhibition celebrates the artistic skills of staff and patients from NHS Lothian Hospitals.

The exhibition began at the Western General Hospital in February 2016 and toured to other sites on the following dates:
5 February – 15 April at the Gallery, Western General Hospital
22 April – 1 July at St John’s Gallery
29 April – 1 July at the Pelican Gallery, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh

The artworks are made by staff and patients from across NHS Lothian Hospitals; by people who wouldn’t necessarily call themselves ‘artists’. Many of the exhibitors have day jobs or commitments to their time, including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, pharmacists, administrators, porters, medical secretaries, scientists and technicians. There are also many artworks made by in and out patients, young and old.

The show is always eagerly anticipated, not just by the individuals exhibiting, but by the audience and the hospital community at large. Many of the artworks on display are for sale with the profit going directly to the exhibitors.

This year we invited exhibitors to explore the theme of ‘Movement’, suggesting inspiration be taken from the movement of the human body, animals or plant life, forces of nature, or something more abstract. The results are as varied and diverse as the people who created them.

A Year Out | Pelican Gallery | Royal Infirmary

| Artlink Edinburgh

A Year Out, by Jenny Richardson can be seen from 9 October 2015 – 15 January 2016.

A Year Out

The series of paintings on display were made by Jenny in her sixties, drawn from memories of a year away from her family in a hospital for polio affected children in Edinburgh, when she was four years old.

We all have different ways in which we document our experiences. Some of us will draw, others write, and many of us will take pictures and now more often than not we will share these on social media. In essence, the arts are a tool of communication, both in terms of what we can make sense of and what we can’t. The arts can give us a new perspective on our experiences and provide new opportunities for understanding.

Over many years, Artlink has worked with patients and staff to encourage their involvement in cultural and arts activity throughout NHS Lothian. We realise that this work not only creates positive involvement, we also know that it supports better communication and contributes positively to recovery.

The complete series of drawings and paintings beautifully capture Jenny’s personal vision of this experience, and in revisiting these memories Jenny has come to realise she now has more energy and general wellbeing.

Jenny Richardson has worked all her life as a painter. She studied drawing and painting at Edinburgh College of Art and since then has lived and worked in Scotland and Ireland, having made her home on the Beara Peninsula.

Castaway Heads | The Gallery | Western General

| Artlink Edinburgh

Castaway Heads is an exhibition of portraiture created by two local visually impaired artists, Fiona Powell and Alan McIntyre from 23 October 2015 – 16 January 2016.

Both artists have Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a degenerative condition which severely impairs the vision. Together they have formed the group VIEW – Visually Impaired Experimental Works – a group that develop accessible ways to create work as visually impaired artists, and explore modes of presentation which offer a sensory experience to a wide audience, suggesting alternative perspectives on the world around us.

Art has always played an important part in both of their lives. Fiona was immersed in art from an early age and studied Drawing and Painting at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and has continued painting and exhibiting since graduating. Alan studied as an architectural draughtsman, selling through the Royal Scottish Academy shop as well as exhibiting in group shows. They both regularly attend the RNIB art class held at Hillside Crescent and have exhibited with RNIB and other galleries such as Gallery on the Corner and Space Artworks in Morningside.

As visually impaired artists, Fiona and Alan have been exploring different media in an attempt to find out how best to cope with and to transcend their disabilities. Being visually impaired has a huge impact on the work they make and the processes they explore. Portraiture appealed to both artists as the human face is such an interesting subject; full of curves and straight lines.