This year
we were delighted to welcome Dr Nicola Magnusson and colleagues from the Open
University to the hospital to conduct an evaluation project.
An
Associate Lecturer in the School of Psychology and Counselling at the Open
University, Nicola gathered data to help us understand the impact that the
Collection has on it’s patients, staff,
visitors, carers and families.
This
evaluation aimed to answer three main questions:
-
How
do users of the hospital perceive and experience the art collection?
- How
might we better develop the collection to become more impactful?
-
What
barriers and challenges are there in managing the art collection?
Everyone
who participated in the survey agreed that there were many ways in which the
artwork could impact wellbeing of users of the hospital, including affording
experiences of calm, uplifted mood, and contemplation, and providing a positive
distraction from difficult experiences. Respondents also agreed that the
collection helped to make the hospital seem like a place which was caring,
well-resourced and welcoming. Finally, the presence of art within the space of
the hospital was described as contributing to people feeling valued and
enriching the community life of Milton Keynes.
Moving
forward, Arts for Health MK will be addressing the following recommendations - prioritising ‘dwelling
places’ – places where patients, staff and visitors are still - for new art placement, introduce
more interactive elements into the collection making it more visible through
direct engagement and promote a strong collaborative working culture between
Arts for Health MK and relevant hospital teams.
Art
for Health MK would like to acknowledge the members of the Collections Research
Group who were instrumental in creating and managing this project with the
support of the Open University.
︎ Launch Report in new window
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