Artwork (Oncology)
The installation of original artworks and sculptures to enhance the environment of a new £8m Oncology Centre — creating a welcoming, uplifting space for patients, visitors, and staff.
| Sector | Healthcare |
|---|---|
| Cost | £32K |
| Role | Arts Coordinator, Project Manager |
the brief
Create a welcoming and supportive environment within a new Oncology Centre by commissioning and installing a curated collection of original artworks — enhancing patient experience, aiding orientation, and providing a calming influence in treatment areas.
what studio mode did
We were appointed to lead the project from inception through to on-site completion. We developed a public art strategy shaped by close consultation with patients, visitors, and staff.
The strategy focused on three core ideas:
- To place colourful, eye-catching artworks in transient spaces to support orientation and wayfinding;
- To introduce calming, absorbing works in treatment areas and scanning suites to create a more welcoming atmosphere;
- And to install large-scale sculpture in the courtyard as a focal point and conversation piece—encouraging interaction between patients, staff, and visitors.
As part of this process, we led a collaborative project—In My Own Words—a short film capturing patient perspectives on the value of art in healthcare settings. A key part of the wider consultation also gave patients, staff, and visitors a role in selecting the styles and types of artworks for the new centre.
We then commissioned six professional artists, carefully briefing them to create a suite of works that collectively delivered the strategy. The resulting collection includes intricately stitched and hand-painted silk textiles, calming ocean-themed paintings, delicate papercuts, vibrant screen prints, bold floral photographic artworks, digitally printed metal panels, and a striking large-scale glass sculpture.
In addition, we organised artist-led participatory projects with the hospital school and local hospice—resulting in works created by patients, now displayed in treatment and waiting areas.
Feedback has shown that the new artwork has made a real difference—not only to the experience of patients undergoing treatment, but also to the daily working lives of staff. But don’t just take our word for it… judge for yourself from the selected photographs of the commissioned works.
“At the other hospital where I had radiotherapy there was nothing to look at. Here though there is something to take your mind off what’s happening, to take you into dreamland.....just take your mind away.”
any tricky bits?
Absolutely. During installation, it was critical to understand the technical constraints of the building—particularly in Radiotherapy, where ledite block construction provides essential radiation shielding. Even the smallest intervention could compromise its function. We worked closely with the building’s design team and hospital physicist to ensure the artwork enhanced the therapeutic setting without affecting the building’s performance.
