Community Brain to Lead Arts Programme for New Tolworth Hospital
South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust partners with local organisation to create therapeutic spaces through art.
By Priya Shah
••3 min read
AI
Generic image of a modern hospital building with abstract art installations.
The South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust is partnering with The Community Brain to deliver a major arts programme for the new Tolworth Hospital, aiming to create therapeutic and welcoming spaces.
The Trust is collaborating with The Community Brain, a Kingston-based organisation specialising in creative projects, placemaking, and public art, to shape the identity and experience of its new building, named Tala. This initiative, titled Art for Tolworth, seeks to integrate design and artwork into the hospital's transformation.
The project will initially focus on how creativity can influence the character, atmosphere, and daily experience within Tolworth Hospital. Through workshops and art-making sessions involving patients, carers, staff, and community groups alongside local artists, the programme aims to capture the essence of Tolworth's people and places. These insights will inform the themes, styles, and stories for the artwork to be installed across various areas of the building, including the entrance and waiting areas.
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"We are delighted to be working with the Trust on this exciting project which uses art as an essential element of a new building. It is a wonderful opportunity to work with artists, service users, their families and the local community to create a welcoming and supportive environment. Art for Tolworth can help to reframe our perceptions of and around mental health. By inviting people to help shape and create the artworks alongside the artists, we hope to make space for those conversations and bring different experiences of mental health into the project. We’ll be sharing opportunities to take part as the project develops."
Beyond fostering a rich and therapeutic environment for patients, carers, and staff, Art for Tolworth is intended to make the site more accessible to the wider community, thereby challenging perceptions of mental health services and support-seeking.
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"As a Trust we know the impact art can have in reducing enduring mental health stigma, creating healing spaces that support recovery and wellbeing and strengthening connections between mental health services and our wider community. The Community Brain has an outstanding track record of bringing people together through creative projects and celebrating the unique identity of local places. We're excited to work with them to ensure Tolworth Hospital not only delivers outstanding facilities, but also reflects the stories, cultures and communities of Kingston."
Art for Tolworth is part of the Trust's Better Environments Programme, a £110 million investment to transform mental health services across south west London, including the construction of the new state-of-the-art Tolworth Hospital, expected to open in 2028. Extensive engagement with staff, patients, carers, and local communities has shaped the redevelopment, with this art programme continuing that collaborative approach by celebrating local identity.
Individuals interested in participating in Art for Tolworth can register their interest by emailing artfortolworth@thecommunitybrain.org.
