I do not want to smoke
Every Picture Tells a Story
Looking to the Light
at Glenside Hospital Museum
on until the 1st April 2023
An exciting exhibition of contemporary art exploring mental health care has been launched at Glenside Hospital Museum, Bristol. It is one of three ground-breaking new exhibitions across the UK inspired by remarkable collections relating to mental health.
In Bristol, the national arts charity Outside In recruited ten talented artists to take part in a series of courses to interrogate the psychiatric hospital collection at Glenside Hospital Museum. See the exhibition catalogue here
Many aspects of the Museum and its history – from a padded room to use of mosquitoes on treatments – caught the imaginations of Jackie Bennett, Steve Burden, Steven Edgar, George Harding, Jasmine Janiurek, Anna Rathbone, Ally Schooler, Alison Willis, Natasha Harrison and Damien Moran.
“The theme ‘Looking to the Light’ was inspired by the patient Charles West, photographed in 1897 at Bristol’s mental hospital and the stained glass windows depicting saints and healing that bathe the Museum in coloured light,” explained Stella Man, curator and tutor at Glenside Hospital Museum
“The New Dialogues project enabled me to unpick what art means to me including its connection to life,” says artist Natasha Harrison. “It encouraged us to take the plunge and grow in confidence, to believe in our own creative processes and get creating.”
The project was supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, John Ellerman Foundation and the Art Fund.
The exhibition runs until 1st April 2023 is open on Wednesdays from 10am – 1pm and all day Saturdays 10am – 4pm. A £5.00 ticket for two, provides entry to the whole Museum
Outside In have put together a digital publication showcasing the amazing work created by artists as part of the New Dialogues project. Three organisations supported the artists to explore their collections, the Mental Health Museum in Wakefield, the in Glasgow and Glenside Hospital in Bristol.
Contact us about the museum