Addenbrooke's arts

Contact

We welcome feedback, suggestions, comments and donations.

arts@addenbrookes.nhs.uk

What we do

Our principal areas of work are:

• improving the hospital environment using visual arts
• integrating art into new buildings on the hospital site,
• providing opportunities for patients and staff to participate in the arts
• developing and managing a programme of arts events for patients, staff, visitors and the wider community

We run a number of gallery spaces in the hospital with work for sale and commission integrated artwork in newly built and refurbished parts of the hospital, as well as in external garden spaces. Alongside new work, we manage the hospital’s collection of over 5,000 artworks. 

It's not all about visual arts. We run a number of musical performances each year and collaborate with colleagues in Cambridge, regionally and nationally to help raise standards in arts and health activity.

In recent years, we have run a range of projects with patients and staff. These have provided opportunities to participate in the arts and introducing creative activity as a tool for staff development and patient recovery. We stage a number of annual exhibitions of art work produced by staff. We have established staff poetry, photography and painting groups as well as a number of book clubs.

We are proud of the impact our work has had on the hospital environment. The arts programme has been credited with dramatically improving the experience of patients, staff and visitors to the hospital and influencing patient outcomes. 

Art in hospitals

In recent years, a growing body of evidence has been compiled proving the value of the arts in healthcare settings. In 2007, The Department of Health 

issued its first ever review of arts in health which recognised that the arts “are, and should be firmly recognised as being, integral to health, healthcare provision and healthcare environments, including supporting staff”. Recent research at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital found:

• 75% of patients found the presence of art in the hospital reduced stress levels

• patients exposed to visual arts and live music during the preoperative process shoed significantly lower levels of anxiety and depression than patients who were prepared for surgery in the absence of the arts.

• patients exposed to visual art and live music during the post-operative period required less analgesia per day than patients recovering in the absence of visual art and live music. These patients also stayed 1 day less in hospital