A pop-up art gallery in a North Wales hospital featuring work by local schoolchildren has been praised by visitors and patients.
The artworks are brightening up the entrance-way to the women’s and children’s wards at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Bodelwyddan.
Pupils at nearby Ysgol y Faenol created the colourful exhibition of paintings, drawings, collages and craft-models. It has so impressed patients, staff and visitors that some have now sent messages of congratulations to the school via Twitter and Facebook.
Head teacher Rhian Jones said the cheery display is the first of an ongoing programme of art work that the school will be showcasing in the foyer.
She said, ‘It’s great to have had such positive feedback. A number of hospital staff have told us how much they like to see the children’s work. Some of our pupils’ parents who have visited the hospital recently have also commented on what a difference it makes.
‘We support the hospital whenever we can, so we were thrilled to be asked to help transform this little entrance area for the women’s and children’s ward.
‘It is the perfect site as so many young people and families will see all the art our pupils produce. Hospital visits can be traumatic at any age, so it’s also nice for us to be able to create a brighter environment which might help people to relax a little.’
The vivid pictures have gained lots of fans among the medical teams on the children’s ward who use the entrance daily.
Staff Nurse Lolida Sardina said, ‘The paintings and drawings are lovely. It was so nice to meet the children who have created them. They are all full of enthusiasm and have fantastic imaginations.’
Betsi Cadwaladr University Hospital Board Area Director Bethan Jones also welcomed the link with the school, saying ‘These artworks are lovely and many people of all ages have commented how they have brightened up this part of the hospital.
‘It’s an excellent way of showing children that hospitals don’t have to be scary but instead can be welcoming and interesting places. I am looking forward to seeing what the pupils of Ysgol y Faenol exhibit next.’
The school first started working with the hospital in 2012, following the Life Through the Lens art project, when children created a tableau of decorative petri dishes to adorn the walls of the hospital’s Emergency Quadrant
All the art now on show was created as a result of project work linked to the school’s educational curriculum. A continually changing cycle of exhibitions will portray different themes.
