This week we welcome six new Artists’ in Residence to join Creating with Care (CWC) our award-winning project which delivers a programme of arts and wellbeing interventions for staff, patients and relatives at Community Hospitals across Oxfordshire.

The residency project which has been funded by Oxford Health Charity and NHS Charities Together aims to innovate and expand on the evidence based CWC programme, by increasing opportunities for staff, patients and relatives to be involved.

The artists have a range of experience and skills from dance to storytelling and visual arts, that they will be using when they work on the wards. Alongside the 6 month project we will be evaluating the impact the project has for patients and staff and the overall hospital environment.

        

Here each artist gives us a brief insight into their experience and artform.

Mary Chamberlain – Visual Artist

Mary is a visual artist and creative practitioner who works using drawing and painting.  She has worked both as a painter and with arts groups for many years and loves to create environments where people can relax and enjoy and discover their creativity.  In her sessions, she has a range of materials to work from (including handmade stencils) and often draws inspiration from the natural world. find out more about Mary's work here Mary Chamberlain

Pat Winslow – Poet & Storyteller

Pat worked for 12 years as an actor before taking up writing. She is a poet and storyteller and has had seven collections published. Pat has worked in hospitals, care homes, educational settings, prisons, lunch clubs and at festivals. She enjoys collaborating with other artists and believes that everyone has a unique view of the world and an important story to tell. Find out more about Pat's work here PAT WINSLOW - Home

Dionne Freeman – Visual Artist

Dionne is a practicing artist and has worked as an arts facilitator for over 16 years. Her work over the last 10 years has focused on accessibility and using the arts to enable new approaches and transforming spaces and building confidence and communication skills through painting, drawing and sculpture. With experience of working in a range of educational settings, community groups and ages Dionne believes in the opportunity for all to identify, explore and develop their own artistic possibilities. This lies at the heart of her artistic practice; to engage with those who need creativity the most. Find out more about Dionne's work here Dionne Freeman | Saatchi Art

Sarah Moncreiff – Visual Artist

Sarah is an artist, interested in painting the urban and industrial spaces that form the backdrop of our lives.  She has taught art for many years to adults, children and residents of care homes. She has also spent many years delivering art workshops to those unable to access art on a regular basis, such as street children in Africa and prisoners in the UK. Find out more about Sarah's work here Sarah Moncrieff Paintings

Roosa Leimu Brown – Dance Artist

Roosa Leimu-Brown is a dance artist, yoga therapist and a movement educator with a PhD in biology. She is interested in exploring how movement, breath work and mindfulness practices affect and support our physical and mental wellbeing. She combines creative movement and music with targeted functional strength, mobility and balance exercises as well as relaxation techniques and breath exercises. She also likes to use stories and visualization to enhance the movement experience. Roosa has worked with children and adults and is specialized in leading dance for older people including those with Parkinson’s and dementia. She is a qualified Postural Stability Instructor and incorporates the falls prevention physiotherapy exercises in her creative dance sessions for older people. Find out more about Roosa here Roosa Leimu-Brown Yoga, Yoga Therapy & Dance Classes in Oxford (roosaleimubrown.com)

Tom Cross – Storyteller & Visual Artist                                                                                                    

Tom is a Visual storyteller working in animation, drawing, printmaking and digital art. Whatever stories and memories we have from our daily lives Tom will try to capture them with a drawing. All of us use story to understand, contextualise and navigate ourselves though the ups and downs that life throws at us. This can be small and poetic from memories of the smell of your childhood home or a favorite keep sake which sparks off stories that can mean so much. Find out more about Tom here tomxarts – Visual Storytelling (wordpress.com)

We warmly welcome the team to Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and look forward to seeing how the project develops