Tate Exchange, 2018
Vital Arts is delighted to be taking part in Tate Exchange for a second year. Tate Exchange is a space for creative collaboration, participation and discovery through art.
Over the weekend of 19th & 20th May 2018 events provided visitors the opportunity to learn more about Arts and Health, and the work of Vital Arts who commission site-specific and patient-responsive art projects for five hospitals in east London. Attendees could participate in a range of artist-led workshops and explore how carefully considered art projects and thoughtful curating within a healthcare environment can improve clinical outcomes and increase wellbeing as well as generate meaningful culture.
The free programme was open to all and took place in the dedicated Tate Exchange space on Level 5 of the Blavatnik Building, Tate Modern, Bankside London SE1 9TG.
Handle glazed ceramic artworks by Malene Hartmann Rasmussen, current Artist in Residence at the V&A. Drop into Artist Educator Sam Ayre’s Saloon which will use Charles Avery’s The Islanders as a springboard for philosophical enquiry. Take part in a South Asian Dance Well Workshop hosted by Akademi to discover why these sessions are beneficial for those living with long-term health conditions. Try a Drumming Workshop, led by Music in Hospitals and Care, and learn about the effects of music on rehabilitation. Parents are encouraged to join artist Michelle Charles with their babies for her Draw Your Baby sessions, and try drawing as a means of deeply connecting with their children. Join the discussion with Designing for Dialysis hosted by Graphic Design students from Central Saint Martins as they develop ideas for Vital Art’s forthcoming Community Dialysis Cookery Book, in partnership with Kidney Care UK.
TIMETABLE
SATURDAY 19th MAY / SUNDAY 20th MAY
12-6pm
Sam’s Saloon: The Islanders – 12-6pm
Drop into a Saloon-like setting hosted by Sam Ayre. Engage in philosophical enquiry and discussions about imagined animals, ecologies, roles, and future selves whilst creating new images using the work of Charles Avery’s ‘The Islanders’ as a springboard for ideas.
Sam Ayre has been running a series of creative workshops with students at the Royal London Children’s Hospital. This project is based on the work of Charles Avery, and uses his ‘The Islanders’ as a springboard for ideas. Students explored imagined animals, ecologies, roles, their future selves, and philosophical inquiry to create new works of art.
In association with Art Night, and funded by ArtSocial Foundation.
Designing for Dialysis – 12-6pm
Join Vital Arts, Central Saint Martins and Kidney Care UK to explore how best to visualise kidney friendly recipes as graphic design students work on ideas for a Community Dialysis Cookbook.
We will be showcasing recipe cards created by the patient community at the Royal London Hospital, as well as providing a friendly environment to exchange tips and ideas on how to create flavoursome meals within the limitations of a renal diet. Visitors are welcome to join the discussion and exchange recipes and tips. Renal dietitians and people on dialysis, their friends and families are particularly welcome!
Project Background
Dialysis is the treatment people undergo when they have suffered kidney failure. Patients on dialysis have a very restricted diet. They need to avoid foods with salt, potassium and phosphate. This includes numerous everyday ingredients including many fruits and vegetables. Patients have told us it is difficult to prepare flavoursome meals. People from minority ethnic groups are at greater risk of developing kidney failure and yet there are no culturally diverse cookery books available. Barts Health NHS Trust serves approximately 1300 dialysis patients from a great variety of backgrounds.
This project is the result of a partnership between Vital Arts, Central Saint Martins (CSM), and Kidney Care UK.
Mindful Drawing: Draw Your Baby - 12-1pm, 2.30-3.30pm, 5-6pm
Mothers and fathers are encouraged to bring their babies into Michelle Charles’ meditative and nurturing space to learn drawing skills that will engender a deeper connection between parent and child. Using a series of sketching exercises and guided meditations, participants are encouraged to use drawing as a means of seeing their babies, and depict them in a relaxed and structured environment.
Paper, pencils and other materials provided. These workshops, led by artist Michelle Charles, will include demonstrations and talks. Vital Arts hopes to introduce these workshops to Maternity Units at Barts Health NHS Trust to encourage meaningful bonding.
Michelle Charles is an experienced artist and workshop leader in art and design, and has taught for many years at art schools in the USA and UK. Her works are in public collections that include; The British Museum, The Wellcome Trust, The Brooklyn Museum (USA), and the National Museum of Art (USA).
Drumming and South Asian Dance Well Workshop - 1-2.30pm, 3.30-5pm
Two of Vital Arts’ partners, Akademi and Music in Hospitals & Care, have joined forces to create a number of music and dance workshops throughout the weekend. Take part in Akademi’s Dance Well workshop and discover why these sessions are beneficial for those living with long-term health conditions. Then try a Drumming Workshop, led by Music in Hospitals and Care, and learn about the effects of music on rehabilitation. In between, enjoy a dance performance by Akademi’s dancer accompanied by Music in Hospital’s drummers.
Drumming workshops increase movement. They build strength, self-esteem, confidence and help articulation by exploring rhythm, volume and vibration. They improve social skills through group interaction, creating shared experience and engagement. In the drumming circle at Tate Exchange you can produce rhythm and sound on found items or on a range of percussion and drums. The workshops will be led by MiHC musicians Sandro Granda and Demba Sow.
1-2.30pm – Dance Well Workshop
1:00pm – Drumming Circle
1:15-1:30pm – Drumming Circle workshop
1:30pm – Dance and music performance
3.30-5pm –Dance Well Workshop
4:15pm – Dance and music performance
4:30pm – Drumming Circle
4:45-5pm – Drumming Circle workshop
Vital Arts - 12-6pm
Make sure to visit the Vital Arts team who will be showcasing best practice in Arts and Health and offer information about their extensive site-specific and patient-responsive art projects—as well as the opportunity to handle ceramic artworks by Malene Hartmann Rasmussen, the current Artist in Residence at the V&A. Vital Arts is the charitably funded arts organisation for Barts Health NHS Trust, which devises, develops and delivers visual art, music, dance, literature and performance directly to patients across five hospitals serving east London: Barts (St. Bartholomew’s); Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel; Mile End Hospital; Whipps Cross; Newham University Hospital.
