National Cancer Centre of Excellence
Vital Arts, the arts project for Barts and The London NHS Trust announced in February 2003 that it is commissioning six leading contemporary artists to create new work for a new Breast Cancer Centre to be based at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. The new Breast Cancer Centre is due to open in 2004.
Curator Theresa Bergne of Field Arts has consulted with staff and patients and briefed artists to create an art programme which aims to be integral to the physical environment of the new building. The central focus of the building's permanent commissions will be loosely based on a diverse range of expressions of landscape using a wide range of media. The intention is that the art will take the users of the building to a place they identified 'anywhere but here', allowing them a moment's respite from the stresses of treatment, an emotional breathing space in the busy working day.
The six artists working on permanent commissions for this exciting project, which aims to create a contemporary, state-of-the-art medical facility with strong 'patient appeal' whilst celebrating the qualities of the original 18th century design, are:
James Aldridge
David Batchelor
Cornelia Parker
George Shaw
Shazia Sikander
DJ Simpson
The arts programme was launched before Christmas with a temporary commission by Julian Opie , a drop sheet that will surround the scaffolding for the duration of the build.
The new Breast Cancer Centre is expected to offer a well-designed interior of quality with the primary objective of providing comfort and reassurance to the women for whom it is being created. Findings indicate that environmental factors affect patient well-being and recovery rates, and that visual stimuli or positive distraction can alleviate the stress involved in waiting or receiving treatment in a hospital environment and this research will inform both architectural and artistic practise for this new healthcare setting.
