Hospital Rooms distributes 10,000 artist posters to NHS mental health wards for 10th anniversary

UK charity Hospital Rooms is marking its tenth anniversary by distributing 10,000 limited-edition posters by artists including Beatriz Milhazes, Celia Paul, Chantal Joffe, and Jeremy Deller to over 1,000 NHS mental health hospitals across England. The initiative, titled '10 Posters for 10 Years,' will roll out throughout 2026 via the charity's Digital Art School programme, targeting acute, secure, and locked wards to disrupt sterile environments and provide patients with immediate access to ambitious visual culture. The first set of posters will be sold online from next month for £100 each to fund future projects. Co-founded in 2016 by curator Niamh White and artist Tim Shaw after a close friend was sectioned following a suicide attempt, Hospital Rooms has commissioned over 200 works and collaborated with 360 artists at NHS sites. The anniversary also includes an exhibition at Victoria Miro gallery in London (3–12 September), featuring artists like Lonnie Holley and Boo Saville, with works recreated on gallery walls to simulate the hospital experience. A concurrent fundraising exhibition will be held at Bonhams in London. The initiative aligns with recent research from University College London, published in Innovation in Aging, showing that arts engagement helps people stay biologically younger.