Rochdale Infirmary: resident artist

A pioneering art project is currently underway at Rochdale Infirmary, with staff being joined by a more unusual colleague.

Artist Kate Sheward has begun a 3 month residency hosted by the Urgent Care Centre (UCC) and Clinical Assessment Unit (CAU), funded by the Arts Council. It is a paired residency running in parallel with the Royal Bolton Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, who are also hosting an artist in residence (Claire Tindale), with the two artists sharing their experiences of the NHS.

The project forms part of the arts activity across the Trust coordinated by LIME. Rob Vale, arts coordinator explains that this project is different to any tried before.

“The arts council funding has allowed us to place an artist within the UCC and CAU for three months, which is longer than would normally be possible. This allows staff and patients to get to know Kate, see how an artist works, and directly influence the artwork produced. Kate works with photography, and it’s really interesting to see how she can do this within a busy department.”

The residency coincides with the first year anniversary of the CAU and UCC at Rochdale, and this was part of the interest in setting up the residency there.

Rob explains: “As a relatively new system, with pioneering work from staff, it gave us a great opportunity for Kate to respond directly to what she experiences. She’s been shadowing staff on their rounds, setting up studio space in the department, talking one to one with patients, and the work should reflect what she finds as an outsider being invited in to these busy departments.”

The residency is already proving fascinating for everyone involved, and Kate is enjoying the challenge of being an artist in a health setting: “On leaving school I initially set out studying health and science with intention the to study nursing” said Kate. “I’m spending regular time in front line services finding out about life for staff and patients in the hospital. The project is designed to have a collaborative and participatory approach for all involved, exploring the highs and lows of hospital life, and will, I hope, result in a really unusual and interesting collection of work to be displayed within the hospital.”

LIME has previously been involved with various arts projects in the various Pennine Acute hospitals including both the Infirmary and Birch Hill.