An exhibition of hospice patient's art work, at the Studio Pavilion at House for An Art Lover, October 2018
The Creative Arts Service at The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice were delighted and proud to present a group exhibition of art work made by people who attend art sessions at the hospice. The exhibition took place at the Studio Pavilion at House for an Art Lover, Bellahouston Park, 5 - 21 October 2018.
Kenny Harrison, Tom McAlister, Paul McGinley, Jimmy McMillan and Sean O’Hagan all presented art work as part of all threads lead back to here. Developed through a process of exploration and experimentation the work in the exhibition celebrated a wide range of mark-making. Compositions were created by layering colour and texture. Loose painterly marks were inspired by architecture, and photographic landscapes generated poetry.
In 2016 the art team at the Hospice started meeting regularly with Dr Ben Colburn, Senior Lecturer in Moral and Political Philosophy, University of Glasgow to practically and theoretically explore creativity and autonomy at the end of life.
Central to living a good life is the value of autonomy: deciding for yourself what is valuable and living your life in accordance with that decision. Autonomy is an ideal of self-authorship (J.Raz). Being author of your life means shaping it to reflect your values and ambitions, taking responsibility for the course it takes, and forging reciprocal moral relationships (of trust, care and need) with others, helping shape their lives and letting them shape ours too.
The making of this exhibition directly applied some of these ideas and explores how a thread can be traced back through a creative process in such a way that supports a person’s autonomy in life.
A central question for individuals and organisations responsible for end of life care is this: how do we support people in living good lives right to the very end? Doing so involves finding the best ways of treating life-limiting conditions and of reducing pain. But there is an increasing recognition that the good life involves more than just this. Practice in palliative care is moving beyond merely clinical understandings of well-being to a more holistic and social model of care. The aim of these models of care is to recognise the needs of the whole person, as a member of society.
An exhibition of this kind highlights the holistic approach integral to palliative care. That includes supporting people to live life to its fullest, or as the Hospice says, “Where it may not be possible to add days to lives, we aim to add life to days.”
Over 300 people visited the exhibition.
Documentation of the exhibition can be found here.
The Hospice moved to a state of the art new building adjacent to the Studio Pavilion in October 2018. The new facility leads the way in palliative care, offering support to 1200 new patients and families every year.
The Creative Arts Service is continuing to build a creative relationship with our neighbours at the Studio Pavilion. Thank you to Louise Briggs, Arts & Heritage Officer and her team.
