Performance Schedule
Interested in performing at YDH?
If you play a musical instrument and are interested in performing at YDH. Please contact us.
The Trust has an arts programme and is committed to making sure the environment enhances the patient experience and improves the emotional well-being of patients, staff and visitors of the hospital using both live arts and art around the hospital.
Art around the hospital
For over 10 years Yeovil District Hospital has supported a thriving Arts in Hospital Programme as part of our commitment to enhancing the environment in which our community cares, works and visits. All across the hospital you will see a vibrant range of artworks from poetry to sculpture, paintings to prints, predominantly by Artists based in the West Country.
The outpatients gallery displays temporary exhibitions by local artists showing different photographs, paintings and prints for a three month period. At Yeovil we have a very creative workforce and several members of staff have exhibited here in the past. A contribution from the sale of artwork is donated to the Art in Hospital funds.
Where an area of the hospital is being refurbished or refreshed the Hospital’s Art Coordinator will work with architects, staff and patients to ensure that high quality appropriate art and design is included. This ranges from flooring images to ceiling panels in consulting rooms as well as original artworks in public corridors and waiting areas, often commissioned specifically for the Hospital.
Yeovil District Hospital also works with the charity Art in Hospital which loans artwork to regional hospitals. In 2014 the Hospital’s League of Friends kindly donated funds to enable us to display 13 artworks for 3 years.
In 2011 Hugh Turvey X-Ray Artists worked with staff and patients to generate a series of stunning images of familiar objects, plants and toys. The images are a delightful addition to the waiting areas as well as acting educational tools helping staff to illustrate how the range of imaging technologies can communicate different information.
As a Hospital Trust we are committed to making our services as accessible as possible, we know that hospitals can be disorientating and unfamiliar to many. Colour, image, clear symbols and signage can all support patients and visitors find their way around the hospital. With the help of a grant from the Department of Health we have been able to totally redesign Dementia ward 6A. We now have bold and interchangeable photographs in corridors, side rooms and ward areas and we are aiming to extend these design principles to apply to all our wards. Local photographers responded to a call out to supply images that will help patients visually connect with their surroundings.
In 2012 children from a neighboring nursery worked with digital artist Richard Tomlinson to explore the theme of Sanctuary. Their artwork was then interpreted and manipulated to form a beautiful patterned Perspex screen within the multi-faith Chapel.
Our hospital is blessed with fabulous gardens and outdoor spaces. Over the next year we are going to develop an accessible outdoor trail to encourage more people to explore some of the wonderful borders, trees, seating and sculptures which surround the hospital.
Find out more about the range of commissioned art we have around the hospital. For information about the beautiful glass art we have and the role it can play in improving the environment click here.
If you are interested in exhibiting or would like to find out more about the Arts in Hospital programme please contact the Hospital Art Coordinator Caroline Barnes: [email protected] or telephone: 07834 986462.
Live arts
Re-Found Sound is our music programme, funded by the Arts Council of England, it involves regular live music on the wards and has been developed in partnership with Dorset County Hospital. Musicians are booked to play in both hospitals most weeks. The programme particularly aims to reach patients with Dementia and, to date, we have been able to invite musicians who play the harp, clarinet, flute, percussion, keyboards and drums. Wherever possible we encourage patients to join in, either by playing hand percussion instruments or by singing. We have been evaluating our programme and have already found very positive outcomes for patients, these have included improvements in memory and recall, increased social interaction and concentration as well as high levels of enjoyment.
Playing live music on the wards is a specialist skill, it can often be a noisy and busy environment and as part of our project we have recruited 3 trainees who are developing their skills by attending training with our partners Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and shadowing our regular musicians.
The final element of our programme is the commissioning of Marc Yeats as our Composer in Residence. Marc has undertaken research into the area of Dementia and will be producing a new composition in response. The piece will be launched at both Dorset County Hospital and Yeovil District Hospital Foundation Trust in the summer and will be available as a digital download.
For further information about Re-Found Sound please contact Caroline Barnes the Hospital’s Arts Coordinator [email protected]
Postcards for Recovery
Supported by Yeovil Hospital Charity and Thriving Communities, Postcards for Recovery is a set of creative activities and materials designed to reconnect our community after any isolating event or situation including leaving the hospital.
The activities will bring some positive distraction to keep mind and bodies happy and healthy, particularly in stressful or challenging times. From paper aeroplanes to sketchbooks and crayons the seven activities are about discovering new interests and skills that don’t need any special tools or equipment.
These free packs are currently being distributed as part of a pilot in South Somerset through our Wellbeing Hub, St Margaret’s Hospital, community partners, volunteers and the discharge team at the Hospital.
For further information about the project please contact Caroline Barnes, Hospital Art & Design Coordinator [email protected]
