Friends of ANCHOR and Teenage Cancer Trust have joined forces to revamp two of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary’s inpatient wards, with a permanent art installation showcasing stunning Scottish landscapes.
The Seeking Scotland art trail has been installed in wards 112 and 114 within the ANCHOR Unit, where oncology and haematology inpatients receive treatment.
The walls of the wards have been decorated with large-scale photographic murals showing picturesque Scottish scenes, including Glencoe, the Forth Road Bridge and Portree harbour in Skye. The artworks can be admired by staff and patients alike – with an art trail booklet, specially created by Friends of ANCHOR to ‘guide’ patients around the various landmarks during their stay in the ward.
The project has been completed at a total cost of £35,935, with £23,540 funded by Friends of ANCHOR and £12,395 by the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Kerry Bakewell, Ward 112 Senior Charge Nurse and Friends of ANCHOR committee member, said: “The art has been such a welcome addition to our wards, for both the staff and patients. Sometimes our patients can be in the ward for weeks or months at a time, so these lovely images of well-known landmarks and beautiful countryside really bring a wellbeing boost to the atmosphere.”
Kirsten Will, Development Manager at Friends of ANCHOR added: “As ever, it’s great to be able to collaborate with a fellow third sector organisation and this joint project with Teenage Cancer Trust was a great one to work on together.
“For some, the images will inject some nostalgia as they admire views they may have experienced first-hand. We hope for all the patients, the art adorning the walls will spark a little joy with all the colours and beauty of the imagery, lessening the feeling of being within a clinical setting. To know it will have a lasting impact within the inpatient wards is just wonderful.”
The images that feature in the new installation were gifted to the ANCHOR Unit by multi-award-winning photographer, Shahbaz Majeed, whose expertly shot scenes of Scottish landscapes have become more than just decorative pieces within the hospital.
With the Seeking Scotland trail, patients are invited to ‘visit’ each sight and challenge themselves to name where each photo was taken and which native flowers feature. With points of interest from across the North of Scotland, there are bound to be familiar sights.
Friends of ANCHOR has made the trail accessible to all by creating a booklet that brings the wall art to a pocket-sized paper adaptation, so patients who are less mobile can still take part from the comfort of their room.
Kirsten continued: “We designed the art trail booklets in-house, so that patients can pass some time on the wards, testing their knowledge of the Scottish landscapes as they ‘visit’ the sights. From the stunning architecture in the heart of Aberdeen city centre to the vast landscapes of the Orkney and Shetland islands, we hope to bring a sense of home, wherever that may be, to patients.”
With the artwork being a permanent feature in the wards, patients can take their time to complete the challenge and fully immerse themselves in a sense of the great outdoors.