Art Consultancy involves the strategic curation and commissioning of art in the context of a particular space, building or landscape.
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In healthcare, it plays a vital role - ensuring spaces make patients, visitors and staff feel at ease; aiding navigation through space and creating a sense of identity - either for a particular building - or individual department or service. Selecting the right art, can help foster a sense of community and connection - both with the service and other users, offering both information and welcome distraction from the 'process' of healthcare - enhancing patient experience, reducing stress and anxiety and ultimately supporting recovery and care.
Art in Site provide art consultancy both as a standalone service and alongside design, delivery and production of interior art, wayfinding, furniture and design.
Working either directly with NHS Trusts, healthcare charities or private healthcare providers, we project manage the procurement of art, sourcing artists and artwork from across a vast network of connections to match the needs of the project.
Our roots stem from art consultancy: it was how we started the business 20 years ago. With two decades of practical experience in extending art into interior design, furniture and service design renewal means that any strategy we develop will be do-able, affordable and flexible enough to accommodate fluctuations in resources.
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Five 'needs' every healthcare client should consider when commissioning art?
Here's our take.
1: A review of culture, including the culture of care and local culture. We find this fascinating - and a useful bedrock to return to.
2: A review of resources, including human, financial, and historical, and how they can be mobilised effectively. This involves real engagement and respectful listening to the question, ‘How can art help?’
3: A fresh understanding of the ‘art of the possible,’ drawing attention to exciting art programmes in the UK and worldwide and matching them to the Trust’s culture and resources.
4: A roadmap for manifesting the strategy, setting out a sustainable structure and resource base for art and cultural provision with the backing and advocacy of influential voices, including clinical, managerial, political, and patient communities.
5: A clear picture of how all the aspects of the building project - design, construction, finance, compliance, communications and clinical -link with the arts program. This is critical to establishing a functional relationship that can be sustained.
These are the basics, but over time, we’ve learned that different Trusts have additional needs, which can also be incorporated into the strategy.
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Ensuring individual NHS Trust needs are met through art consultancy
Two critical factors to consider are:
1. Alignment with procurement processes:
Procurement routes such as the New Hospitals Programme (NHP/ Hospital 2.0), Procure 23 and other public sector frameworks, getting your art consultant onboarded early on is key. Integrated art should work hand in hand with architects, designers and construction companies.
Procurement routes such as the New Hospitals Programme (NHP/ Hospital 2.0), Procure 23 and other public sector frameworks), getting your art consultant onboarded early on is key. Integrated art should work hand in hand with architects, designers and construction companies.
2: Creating sustainable community connections:
Forging, deepening, and sustaining community links will enable to Trusts and teams to communicate throughout lengthy building processes. This often involves engaging with special interest groups.
An art consultant’s role varies, but these ‘five needs’ are a great starting point. They satisfy RIBA stages Two and Three report requirements and open a conversation about realising ambitions. Aligning with procurement and creating longstanding community connections ensures greater integration with process and people, and committment a longer-term plan.
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Supporting artwork acquisition: planning successful charity bids.
Historically, funding for arts in healthcare has often come from NHS Foundation Trust charities and 'Friends of' societies that identify the requirement for new art works raise awareness of art projects and support fundraising for new commissions.
Art in Site has a track record of preparing and supporting successful charity bids, matching design and artworks to aims.
Our first step is always to understand the views responsible Charity officer, before exploring and consulting on a range of strategies on different scales -from a complete overhaul of arts procurement, to evolving the current ad-hoc management of arts delivery by project managers and procurement.
We put forward a holistic view, focusing on the experience of patients,staff, and the wider community; creating structures to integrate wayfinding, interior design, communications and art into a single, cohesive strategy, aligned with the Trust’s identity and programmatically connected to ongoing estate renewal and construction.
A holistic strategy requires effective collaboration between clinicians, designers, estates officers responsible for maintenance, fire safety and infection control, and representatives for patients and community, so we will devise structures for this to take place efficiently and productively.
Our final strategy will be adaptable to social change, economic constraints, and technological innovation. That means we consider the Trust’s existing financial and human resources and identify potential partnerships for funding related to medical research and design innovation.
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If you'd like to find out more about how Art in Site can help with Art Consultancy, please get in touch below.