On Thursday 16th June, artist Andy Burgess visited Chelsea and Westminster Hospital to see his newly installed artworks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Through an exciting partnership with Cynthia Corbett Gallery and CW+, the hospital’s official charity, the British-born, US-based artist has created a series of bespoke artworks to transform the NICU environment for patients, families and staff.
Initial consultations started in 2020, with several virtual sessions taking place. Hospital staff were invited to take photos of their favourite local locations, particularly places they felt invoked a sense of warmth, welcome and familiarity. Andy used these photographs as his research and design inspiration and after extensive staff consultation and feedback sessions, final designs were developed.
Known for his unique, abstract and colourful style, Andy has transformed selected London scenes into incredible artworks to transform the environment into a warm and welcoming environment for both parents and staff to enjoy. The display includes a panorama of London, an image of Albert Bridge and another of a London Underground station. Additionally, Andy produced two smaller scale abstract pieces developed from the colour palettes of his larger works, which were gifted as part of the commission. CW+ also acquired two existing works by Andy for the unit through the Cynthia Corbett Gallery.
Commenting on the installation, Andy said: “It has been fantastic to work in close collaboration with CW+ and the wonderful staff that make up the NICU team. It has been a tremendously inspiring journey that I am delighted I was a part of, and it was great to see the works in person. Now that the artworks are installed, I hope they have a positive impact on staff and make a real difference to parents.”
Trystan Hawkins, Director of Patient Environment at CW+, also commented: “It has been a real pleasure working with such a talented artist such as Andy. The artworks look incredible and will really improve the environment for NICU staff and provide a welcome distraction for parents and visitors. A huge thank you to Andy for creating such an inspiring and unique collection.”
Mark Thomas, Consultant Neonatologist at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, said: “We would like to say a special thank you to Andy for helping us transform NICU with his creative artworks. Staff enjoyed collaborating with him and the artworks have really helped improve the environment, which will benefit staff as well as parents and family members who are often spending long periods of time in NICU”.
Cynthia Valianti Corbett, Founder and Director of Cynthia Corbett Gallery also added: “We are greatly honoured to have facilitated this extraordinary collaboration between long-standing gallery artist Andy Burgess and the remarkable team at CW+, for such an important new unit at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. After the challenging last two years, the beauty and positivity of this artistic project is so meaningful for all involved, including medical staff, overall hospital personnel and most importantly parents and patients of the NICU ward. I greatly look forward to working on future initiatives with CW+.”
