News

Galway University Hospitals Arts Trust announces the installation of a new Per Cent For Art commission by artists Maree Hensey and Mark Ryan in the Acute Adult Mental Health Unit at University Hospital Galway. The artists created two wall-mounted and four freestanding bronze sculptures within the unit and grounds.
Collaboration and engagement was an important aspect of this commission. The artists worked directly with end users through artist-led workshops, exploring creative processes to arrive at visual and literary information to develop the final artworks. Their approach to the commission was through exploration and process, conversation, collaboration, responsiveness, flexibility and openness, and experimentation within a supportive environment.
The artworks include a wall-mounted sculpture on the exterior wall of the ground floor courtyard, another wall-mounted sculpture at the reception area and four freestanding sculptures throughout the end users’ courtyards and outdoor garden spaces.
The sculptures seek to evoke familiarity, contemplation and a gentleness with an energy and vitality that echoes traces of the natural world. The artists aimed both to humanize the health care environment and to enhance visitor and staff experience. It is hoped the sculptures will provide engagement for patients and visitors, becoming a topic of conversation and a focus for contemplation.
The process of creating and installing the work has been documented by artists Maree Hensey and Mark Ryan on a dedicated project blog: https://acuteadultmentalhealthunituhgpercentforart.wordpress.com/
For further details on Galway University Hospitals Arts Trust, contact Margaret Flannery, Arts Director, on 091 544979 or Margaret.Flannery@hse.ie