Art of Caring & Nursing's Got Talent

photo: Bill Mudge

This year's International Nurses' Day didn't last a mere 24 hours, in fact those of us in Kingston-upon-Thames thought all those health professionals and carers deserved at least a week of appreciation and celebration.


John Sutherland. Photo: Bill Mudge

We started on 12th May 2015 (International Nurses' Day), which is Florence Nightingale's Birthday with the Private View of The Art of Caring at the Rose Theatre. It was a wonderful night and many of the 133 artists came from far and wide to see the 252 artworks on the walls of the Circle gallery space.

photo: Bill Mudge

A special mention must go to Ella Penn and partner Liam who brought our poster boy Jack to the party. It was Ella's photograph of her son which graced the publicity for our event. Thanks to all that helped hang the exhibition on the 11th May including Bryan Benge, Kevin Acott, Nikki Yun, John Sutherland, Harvey Wells, Rajaa Khalife and our photographer for the whole week Bill Mudge.

Dr Julia Gale and Harvey Wells. Photo: Bill Mudge

The exhibition wouldn't have been possible without the support of Kingston University who funded the exhibition and the refreshments at the Private View. Especially Harvey Wells and Dr Julia Gale, Head of School of Nursing / Associate Dean (Quality) at Kingston University and St George's, University of London (FHSCE) who gave a rousing speech at the Private View.

Art Jazzed Up. Photo: EZZIDIN ALWAN

The exhibition was part of a inspirational event on Friday 15th May called Nursing's Got Talent which was a celebration of Nurse's and Nursing. The day included talks, book recitals, drama and plays, poetry and live art & music. I represented our artists community with a live drawing performance in the 400 seat main auditorium with our Art Jazzed Up project. While jazz musicians, Duncan Eagles (sax), Max Luthert (bass), Bill Mudge (keys) and Chris Nickolls (drums) played 3 original compositions I drew on 3 large paper canvases.

We had a very positive response from the public about The Art of Caring exhibition and I would like to say thank you to all the artists to help make it such a success. There are more photos to view here, just follow the link - https://picasaweb.google.com/103519518631561147857/ArtOfCaringExhibition02?noredirect=1
The Photos of the Private View and exhibition set up are courtesy of Bill Mudge. The photos of Nursing's Got Talent are courtesy of EZZIDIN ALWAN.

The future is a positive one for the Art of Caring exhibition. We are currently talking to Camden & Islington NHS Trust about exhibiting in one of their galleries. Watch this space!

Alban Low

Art of Caring Exhibition

We've had a fantastic response from artists all around the world on the theme of Care and Caring. The Art of Caring exhibition is proud to display 251 artworks from 133 artists at the Rose Theatre from 12th-16th May 2015.

Join us for the Private View on Tuesday 12th May from 4-6pm to help celebrate International Nurse's Day and launch this diverse exhibition. Come along to the circle gallery space to meet the artists and have a glass of wine. A panel from Kingston University Nursing Society (Nikki Yun, John Sutherland, Gurlal Jagdev and Daniel Waters) have also selected 15 images to print at a larger format alongside the 251 postcard sized artworks.

The exhibition is open daily from 10am-6pm at
Rose Theatre,
24-26 High Street,
Kingston upon Thames,
Surrey KT1 1HL

As part of our celebration of Nursing we have created a FREE event on Friday 15th May from 1.30-4.30 in the main auditorium where we'll be showcasing the best in literature, drama, music and art. All welcome, details can be found here - http://www.kingston.ac.uk/events/item/1588/15-may-2015-nursing039s-got-talent/

Submissions closed

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Art of Caring. We've now got the long process of logging in all the submissions, approx 250 and preparing them for the exhibition on the 12th May 2015.

Submit & Exhibit your art

Get involved in this exciting open art exhibition at The Rose Theatre in Kingston-upon-Thames. The theme is Caring/Care and it is FREE to enter. If you would like to submit your artwork then follow the guidelines below.

Where do I send my images?

Send up to 3 Jpegs/photos of your work to collectconnect4@gmail.com

before Tuesday 31st March 2015 (Midnight).

The images should be approximately postcard size - A6 (10.5 x 14.8cm)

Include your name, title of the image/work and your website address if you have one.

The Theme

Your art/photo should respond to the theme of Caring/Care.

 

Feeling or showing care and compassion. Relating to professional social or medical care. To be troubled or concerned; be affected emotionally. To have regard, affection, or consideration. To have a desire or taste. To provide physical needs, help, or comfort. To agree or like (to do something).

 

Or your interpretation of the theme.......

The Rose Theatre, Kingston

The Exhibition

We will print two copies of your artwork as an A6 postcard. One for the exhibition and one to send to you. Your name and title will appear beside your image.

The exhibition will be at The Rose Theatre, 24-26 High Street, Kingston-upon-Thames, KT1 1HL. Open from the 12th-16th May 2015 (10am to 6pm) in the circle gallery space.
 

The exhibition will also be part of an exciting day that celebrates nursing around the world, with poetry, live music and drawing, expert speakers on the challenges of modern nursing on Friday 15th May.

A panel of artists and Kingston University Nursing Society members will be selecting 10-20 of their favourite images. These will be printed at an A3 size and framed.

Will my work be selected?
Yes.

We are working with the artists' collective, CollectConnect, who specialise in inclusive exhibitions. We aim to include at least one artwork by each artist but if you send us 3 then we hope to include them all. We have a 'First come-First served' policy, this sometimes means we close before the deadline. 

 

Keep it Simple

Send your images to collectconnect4@gmail.com and be part of the exhibition!

 

 Visit our Submit, Exhibition, Artists and Festival pages to find out more.

Alban Low