Irish Hospice Foundation’s Arts and Cultural Engagement programme embarked on a yearlong residency project in 2023 titled “Artists in Residence in Service to People at End of Life”.
By partnering with hospitals to integrate artists into care settings, the aim of the project was to provide patients, families, and staff with a unique outlet for self-expression and to foster compassion in the acute healthcare system.
Two artists with the requisite skills and experience were commissioned. Visual artist Caroline Schofield was embedded at St Luke’s General Hospital Kilkenny, and BAFTA-winning writer and bardic poet Kevin Toolis at University Hospital Limerick.
Art By Their Side features interviews with participants and showcases the creative work that emerged from the residencies. The publication is structured to present multiple voices and multiple perspectives from concentric circles of care – the professional care staff, the artist’s team, and various types of support staff. At the centre of these circles are those who were dying.
Author:
Dominic Campbell, Sylvia Thompson
Publisher:
Irish Hospice Foundation
Year:
2024
Context:
Acute Hospital, Palliative Care
Artform:
Literature, Visual Art
Category:
Documentation of projects