Good Hope Works

This week, GOSH Arts unveiled two new artworks created by artist Joanna Brinton in collaboration with staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). The first is a custom-made flag for the Paul O’Gorman Building adjacent to the hospital, and the second a vinyl artwork that spans the height of each window in the south staff stairwell of the Morgan Stanley Clinical Building.

The artworks are the culmination of ‘Good Hope Works’, a creative research project facilitated by GOSH Arts and undertaken by Joanna. The project engaged staff from across GOSH, including members of the portering, play, clinical, admin and catering teams as well as many others. It encouraged them to consider their shared values and personal experiences of working at GOSH.

Good Hope Works included periods of research and artist-led workshops with staff and volunteers, during which Joanna invited staff to take her on a journey as part of their work day, to talk as they walked, and to focus their attention on the subject of work and care. The conversations and ideas from these sessions were used to develop the two artworks, both of which include direct quotes from staff members.

"Great Ormond Street Hospital is a very special place and one that I feel privileged to get to know through its staff," says Joanna. "In the words of one of the porters: 'People make this place’. I hope my work here will bring their voices to the fore."

The project and resulting artworks, in particular the flag, which reads ‘EVERY ONE EVERY DAY,’ shows that every single member of staff is integral to the hospital’s successes. The artworks celebrate the diverse skills that staff from across the Trust bring to GOSH.

Thank you to Joanna who so carefully listened to and interpreted the voices of GOSH staff, and to the staff who participated in this project and shaped these new artworks.