Exposing our extraordinary exhibitions
Exposing our extraordinary exhibitions
The past month has spun by for the archives team at the RHN! This has brought us a whole four weeks closer to our forthcoming exhibitions, which have been generously funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
So, what will the exhibitions be about?
They will be about the history of the RHN, of course! You will be able to follow our origins from a Victorian voluntary hospital right through to our current role as a specialist rehabilitation and research centre. You will hear the individual stories that make up the hospital’s unique history, discover incredible artwork and music created by our patients, view examples of our newly-digitised archive material, and be brought up to date with first-hand accounts of the impact of Covid-19.
Where will they be?
There will be an outdoor exhibition set up within the grounds of the hospital, which will mean that patients, staff, and visitors will be in for a real treat when walking around our gardens.
For the more technically savvy or for those living further afield, there will also be an online exhibition on the RHN website.
When will they take place?
They are due to be unveiled in mid-June… can’t wait? Not to worry, our staff and volunteers will be bringing you regular updates between now and then.
Archive artwork of the month
Those in the know about archives will be aware that this month’s theme for #ExploreYourArchive is #Art.
When searching our archives for examples of artwork, it was overwhelming to come across so many stunning creations by former and existing patients. Some of these have been uploaded on our Twitter account.
I was delighted to be contacted on Twitter by the daughter of one of our former patients, John Raphael Higgs, who was a resident at the RHN between 1969 and 1984. As you can see from the beautiful photos below, John was extremely talented at pottery (though not very keen on basket weaving!). His wonderful double-headed serpent was modelled on the sculpture at the British Museum. It is lovely that his artwork brought him so much joy during his stay at the hospital and, through his daughter sharing it with us, it continues to bring a lot of pleasure.
As always, please contact the RHN Archivist, with any queries about our archive collections, See you next month!!
