St George’s Hospital Charity awarded Heritage Fund grant to conserve and curate collection
18 December 2023
The three-year project focuses on conserving, cataloguing, reinterpreting and digitising St George’s Hospital’s unique Art and Heritage Collection so it can be enjoyed by many more people.
‘Our Hospital’ will use the collection to showcase the hospital’s impressive heritage, the diverse communities it serves, and the unheard stories of staff who have worked here, particularly those from under-represented groups.
Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the project will engage the diverse staff group at the hospital and build links with our local communities, encouraging and enabling creative responses to our heritage through a series of workshops with staff, patients, local schools and community groups. Both the internal and external work produced during the project will be showcased through displays, exhibitions and events across the three years.
St George’s Art and Heritage Collection comprises over 800 works of art and artefacts dating from the founding of St George’s Hospital in 1733 at Lanesborough House, Hyde Park Corner, to the present day. The collection has grown over four centuries through donations, commissions, bequests and purchases; it reflects the hospital’s rich heritage, its people, buildings, places and stories.
The collection is managed by Arts St George’s, part of St George’s Hospital Charity. Arts St George’s programme produces high-quality arts and cultural activities that transform the hospital communities, ensuring that patients, their families and staff have a positive experience of being in the healthcare setting.
Commenting on the award, Alex Botha, Interim Chief Executive at St George’s Hospital Charity said: “We are thrilled to have received this support thanks to National Lottery players and are excited to start this new project to conserve and open up our unique collection of art and heritage items to more people as well as telling the story of the heritage of the hospital, its staff and engaging our local community.”
For more information, please follow @artstgeorges on Twitter and Instagram or email arts@stgeorges.nhs.uk to get involved.
Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund www.heritagefund.org.uk
