Arts for Health Milton Keynes (AfHMK) is launching a new Creative
Art Club at Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH), offering artist-led
creative sessions to support patients undergoing cancer treatment.
The Creative Art Club forms part of AfHMK’s New City
Collection project, a two-year initiative supported by The National Lottery
Heritage Fund to safeguard, reinterpret, and care for the art collection at
MKUH. The project explores how heritage collections can be experienced beyond
traditional gallery settings, reaching new audiences and creating meaningful
connections in everyday public spaces — including healthcare environments.
Through the Creative Art Club, patients will engage directly
with artworks from the New City Collection, using them as creative prompts,
conversation starters, and sources of reflection. Professional artists will also
introduce heritage from in and around Milton Keynes, sharing history, stories,
materials, and the social context in which they were created, before supporting
participants to respond through their own creative activity. For some patients,
engagement may simply involve viewing, discussing, or reflecting on artworks
rather than making art themselves, ensuring multiple, accessible ways to
connect and engage with art and heritage in different ways.
The programme builds on the success of a pilot project delivered
in partnership with Milton Keynes Hospital Charity in 2024, which explored how
creative engagement can enhance wellbeing during treatment. Patients described
the sessions as “relaxing,” “uplifting,” and “emotionally supportive,”
providing moments of calm, connection, and creativity in a clinical setting.
The project was initially conceived by Ms Anjana Singh,
Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon at MKUH, during her time as a Trustee
of Arts for Health Milton Keynes (a role she has only recently stepped down
from). Acting as the lead clinician, Ms Singh took forward the pilot project in
collaboration with Macmillan Wellbeing Nurse Specialist and Arts for Health
Milton Keynes (AfHMK).
Funded by the Heritage Fund through AfHMK’s New City
Collection project, Milton Keynes Hospital Charity and Milton Keynes City
Council, the Creative Art Club will run twice a month as drop-in sessions from
2026 to 2027. Sessions will be led by professional artists recruited through an
open brief and supported by AfHMK volunteers and MKUH’s wellbeing team.
The pilot also highlighted the importance of the hospital
environment, with patients expressing a desire for more colour and artwork in
the Cancer Centre Day Unit and Ward 25. Some participants preferred to engage
by viewing art rather than making it, reinforcing the value of both
participatory and environmental art in healthcare settings.
Emma, Project Lead at Arts for Health Milton Keynes, said:
“The pilot showed just how powerful creativity can be for
people undergoing treatment. Through the New City Collection, we’re delighted
to continue bringing art, care, and human connection into the hospital
environment.”
Fay, Macmillan Wellbeing Nurse Specialist at MKUH, added:
“Patients really valued having something positive and
creative to focus on during treatment. It’s wonderful to see this work
continuing and becoming part of our wider care offer.”
Ms Anjana Singh, Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon
at MKUHFT and lead clinician for the project, said:
“This project grew from seeing first-hand how challenging
cancer treatment can be for patients, not only physically but emotionally. The
pilot demonstrated that creative engagement can offer moments of calm, dignity,
and human connection within a clinical environment. I’m proud to see the
Creative Art Club evolve from an initial idea into a sustainable programme that
supports holistic patient care.”
The Creative Art Club forms part of AfHMK’s New City
Collection project, a two-year initiative supported by the Heritage Fund to
commission and care for a new generation of artworks across Milton Keynes —
ensuring creativity and wellbeing are embedded not only in public spaces, but
also within health environments.
AfHMK will continue working with MKUH’s Cancer Centre teams
throughout 2026 to deliver the programme and explore further environmental art
opportunities.
︎ Download the full press release here.
“Saving our 'New City Collection' and reframing its future
with local communities” is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage
Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to undertake this
wide ranging and exciting new conservation and development project at Milton
Keynes University Hospital.
|
|
