All the Wonderful Things Exhibition Overview

Art in Healthcare’s fundraising exhibition opened on Friday 24 June with a Private View to which artists, healthcare partners, clients of BTO Solicitors LLP and Friends of Art in Healthcare were invited. The evening had an atmosphere of warmth, excitement and celebration with many people taking the opportunity to purchase works of art, meet the artists participating in the exhibition and make donations to support this fundraising event. Art in Healthcare staff, volunteers, members of the Art in Healthcare Board and many Partners from BTO Solicitors LLP were very active in making the evening a great success. Guests welcomed a brief interruption to the celebratory atmosphere to hear about the charitable work of Art in Healthcare and learn more about why BTO Solicitors were delighted to have the opportunity to support and promote this important charitable work.

Around 170 people attended the Private View and a further 130 people visited the exhibition over the subsequent days. Feedback from visitors was very positive and many people made small donations, bought the exhibition catalogue and Art in Healthcare greetings cards as well as purchasing works of art. Around 50 works of art were on sale and more than 20 were sold. Sales at the exhibition raised over £6,000 for Art in Healthcare which will support the charity to develop a range of activity making use of the visual arts to improve health. This includes displaying works of art from the Art in Healthcare collection in hospitals and other healthcare settings and engaging people in art activity at art workshops developed in partnership with the community health sector and the NHS.

Thanks are due to many other partners whose contribution helped to make the event a success including Gayfield Creative Spaces, Edinburgh Printmakers, Cater Edinburgh and harpist Shonagh Ure. The sponsorship agreement between Art in Healthcare and BTO Solicitors attracted a New Arts Sponsorship Grant from Arts & Business Scotland which is supported by Scottish Government in conjunction with Creative Scotland.

Art in Healthcare and BTO Solicitors LLP will continue to work together at the forthcoming Edinburgh Art Fair, 18-20 November 2016. As well as supporting ‘All the Wonderful Things’, BTO also sponsored the creation of a new work of art by the successful artist Ann Oram which was launched at the exhibition and copies of this limited edition print will be available for sale at the Art Fair and on the Art in Healthcare website: www.artinhealthcare.org.uk