Hearten

Virtual Gallery - below
Elixir Gallery - 19 April - 30 June 2021

A collaborative project between Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust and APT Studios & Gallery

Created in response to the incredible work the NHS has done during COVID-19, Hearten goes some way to thank the many NHS staff for their bravery and dedication by creating a virtual gallery and physical gallery at the Elixir Gallery, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Lewisham.

The digital gallery (below) showcases work from APT artists, providing further services to NHS staff and members of the public.  Selected by staff members at Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust, this virtual gallery has enabled us to open up access to those that might not have had the time or opportunity to visit our physical space and realise the potential the arts have on health and wellbeing.

The show at the Elixir Gallery, is a smaller selection of work chosen by staff at the Lewisham & Greenwich Hospital Trust and goes some way to provide a creative space for patients and visitor at the hospital during these challenging times.

Anna Matthams, Arts Manager at Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust said: “We were so grateful to be approached by APT with this project, it is a lovely and thoughtful idea to honour the bravery of our staff in this way. Having both the virtual and physical exhibition means we can reach as many people as possible, thank you to everyone at APT for making this happen. The Trust has a long history of working with APT on high-quality projects, the partnership is a key part of our programme of using the arts to benefit patients and staff.”

Chris Marshall, Project Leader and Artist Member at APT Studios & Gallery said: “I believe that artworks in a hospital setting can have a profound restorative, healing and calmative effect. As an artist member at APT I realised that we as a studio/charity, during this time of intense pressure and stress brought about by the pandemic, had a real opportunity to support the hospital workers at LGT. For this initiative and to show our appreciation for the sacrifices, endeavours and hard work by all key hospital staff we have made available to them a selection of expressive and engaging visual works created by the artists at APT.”

Thoughts from some of the artists at APT 

We are going through an extraordinary time. People have had to change their behaviour rapidly, and adapt to new circumstances and demands. This has brought out the best in so many and particularly in our health workers. Nurses, doctors and hospital staff have suddenly been pushed onto the front line of a life and death crisis, with many losing their lives after incredible showing an generosity of spirit. We salute you all. 

I chose to submit the drawing of the Nuthatch and the small Bucolic installation for this exhibition. During lockdown and this corona virus crisis there have been some horribly difficult times for millions of us, and losses which we still grieve for. I was seriously ill along with my daughter who is still recovering, and my brother in law died of the virus, but I have taken comfort in the positive effects which lockdown has brought. We have seen what the world can be like with less traffic and pollution, and how nature can quickly recover and regain its proper place around us. I am hoping that we can hold onto a vision of a different lifestyle that will ease global warming and lead to the recovery of our precious biodiversity that we depend upon both biologically and spiritually.
Victoria Rance

My contribution to this project is made in the belief that a congenial visual environment will have a therapeutic effect. I also wish to join in the applause for health workers hoping that they will be adequately rewarded. 
Paul Tonkin

The N.H.S. gives love
Margaret Higginson

As an artist at APT I had a strong desire to collaborate in this exhibition to show my support for the sacrifice and bravery shown by the NHS staff in their dedicated care for coronavirus patients.  

I would also like to show my gratitude for the many years of care that I and my family have experienced and received from the staff working at University Hospital Lewisham. My little grandson was operated on with open surgery the day after he was born, and is one example of the wonderful care we received.  

I am showing 3 works all made in the same year with related concepts. ‘Utopia’s immateriality underlines the precariousness and fragility of the housing estate, as menacing real-life footage of its destruction (Wood Dene in Peckham) is projected back into the space. The greenhouse images in the video ‘Ship like a Greenhouse floating’ and ‘Specimen’ both question our illusion of the stability of life, bringing together the unpredictable elements that will always exist in delicate balance.  
Liz Harrison

I am honoured to be able to take part in “Hearten” as a gesture of solidarity with the NHS at Lewisham Hospital, and gratified that the exhibition will contribute in some way to the wellbeing of staff and patients. It has given me an opportunity to reflect on the role art can play in such circumstances, and how it`s possible my work can play a small part in supporting our inspirational NHS during this challenging time.
Dexter Dymoke

The Covid pandemic shows in clear focus what we already knew, that the NHS is fantastic. Despite a decade of Conservative Government under-funding, the Doctors, Nurses and support staff perform miracles every day. They've saved the lives of members of my family and helped bring my children into the world safely. For their care, skills and dedication I will be eternally grateful. We should never take the NHS for granted and fight both against any form of Tory privatisation and for improved pay, conditions and funding. I am delighted to show my work in the Hearten Project and hope the NHS staff find my prints interesting - we need more original art in Hospitals. 
David Webb

Like most of us in some form or another, I owe my life to the NHS, so it's great to be able to contribute to the exhibition as a small gesture of my appreciation for the enormous sacrifices made by the incredible staff during this crisis period and beyond.
Charlotte Warne Thomas