Thomas Walshaw

A former culture minister, artists and academics come together to mark 60 years of national charity Paintings in Hospitals at a unique event in London next month.

Ed Vaizey MP, who was minister for culture, communications and creative industries until 2016, will speak with a panel of leading arts and health figures at the Royal College of Physicians on 13 May.

The event will also feature internationally acclaimed artist and author Edmund de Waal OBE; Dr Errol Francis, CEO of Culture&; Dr Val Huet, CEO of the British Association of Art Therapists; and Prof. Victoria Tischler, Professor of Arts and Health at the University of West London.

The Framing the Future panel is part of a series of events throughout 2019 to celebrate Paintings in Hospitals’ 60th anniversary and the difference the charity has made to the nation’s physical and mental health since its founding.

Vaizey, who is also Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing, said:

I am delighted to be part of this inspirational event. Art plays such a major part in all our lives, not least when we are at our most vulnerable, sick or in need of the emotional or spiritual comfort that art can provide.

The future signals much change, both in healthcare and in the arts, so it’s crucial we talk about how the next 60 years of Paintings in Hospitals’ and the sector’s work can continue to benefit patients and their families across the UK.

Paintings in Hospitals was founded in 1959 and its collection of 4,000 artworks includes pieces by Antony Gormley, Andy Warhol, Anish Kapoor, Howard Hodgkin, Patrick Caulfield, Helen Chadwick, Sonia Boyce, Alexander Calder and more.

To find out more about Paintings in Hospitals or to book a place at the Framing the Future event, visit: www.paintingsinhospitals.org.uk/framing-the-future

Picture: Paintings in Hospitals