I'LL BE DOING THIS SKY IN MY DREAMS TONIGHT
This document is about validating the importance of creative expression of people who are living within a hospital context. It is based on the assumption that art is about values, beliefs, identity, expression and communication and as such should be a fundamental right of every individual, regardless of whether they are in hospital or not.
This document is about validating the importance of creative expression of people who are living within a hospital context. It is based on the assumption that art is about values, beliefs, identity, expression and communication and as such should be a fundamental right of every individual, regardless of whether they are in hospital or not.
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Gill Keith<br />
OUTPATIENT AND ARTIST<br />
92<br />
I remember this incredible feeling of relief when I<br />
first found the art space at the hospital. I nearly cried<br />
when someone offered me a choice of teas and a<br />
choice of biscuits. Actually, I think I did cry, with relief.<br />
The circumstances of my life had changed traumatically<br />
overnight and the contact with the artists was the first<br />
time that I was offered the opportunity to acknowledge<br />
that change and to express what was happening inside<br />
my head. It was a totally safe space for that expression<br />
and there were no expectations or assumptions<br />
about what I could or couldn’t do. The artists gave me<br />
information. They responded to what I was trying to say<br />
visually and allowed me to process those thoughts.<br />
Art in Hospital provided me with a level of sanity and self<br />
recognition that I thought I had almost lost. I didn’t know<br />
how to do ‘life’ any more in this new situation. I remember<br />
the feeling of self-affirmation when I was painting and I<br />
realised that the way I felt when I was painting was the<br />
way I had to make myself feel in my day to day life.
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