Panel Discussion: Plastic Propositions – Moving Towards a Sustainable Practice

In celebration of the exhibition ‘Hospital Rooms. Digital Art School,’ join us for a sustainability panel discussion and community building event with art industry professionals at Hauser & Wirth London.

Panelists 
• Natalie Carter, Hospital Rooms
• Kate Marlow, Beautility Collective
• Charlotte Kidger and Katie-May Boyd, Studio TIP 
• James A Shaw, artist and designer

The panel will be chaired by Cliodhna Murphy, Global Head of Environmental Sustainability at Hauser & Wirth.

This event is inspired by Heather Davis’s book ‘Plastic Matter’ (2022) about the ubiquity of plastic on our planet. It is in the air we breathe and the water we drink. Nanoplastics penetrate our cell walls. Plastic is not just any material—it is emblematic of life in the 20th and 21st Centuries.

Our panel discussion will highlight the failure of plastic and what can we do with this material that is not going away. The speakers will offer practical solutions to participants to take back to their galleries, studios, commissioning sites and institutions.  

Tickets are free, but must be booked in advance. If you are able, we encourage donations to support Hospital Rooms’ charitable work within NHS mental health hospitals.

Our Commitment to Environmental Sustainability
Paint and plastic are materials at the root of so many gallery operations and artists’ practice. With the knowledge that 58% of microplastics in the oceans and waterways come from acrylic or latex paint, there are obvious relationships between the presence of plastic and the art world. Using this data and research, we are working to find natural and biodegradable materials. How do we move to make better and more informed choices as consumers both professionally and personally. This is a work in progress and we are steadily learning about alternative materials.  

Hauser & Wirth is inspired by the paint choices Hospital Rooms have made in mental health settings. In collaboration with Hospital Rooms, we will talk to artists, designers and practitioners who will share insights about creative reuses for plastic, identifying responsible ways in which to use the material and shifting to sustainable alternatives.

Following the panel discussion, Aoife Fannin from Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) will be available to speak about their new Artist Toolkit which brings together practical ideas, actions and resources to support artists in addressing the climate crisis.

About Hospital Rooms
Hospital Rooms was founded when a friend of artist Tim Shaw and curator Niamh White was sectioned and admitted to a NHS mental health hospital. On visiting her, they were shocked to find the hospital environment was cold and clinical at a time when she was so vulnerable. Having both worked in the arts for 10 years, Shaw and White felt they had the skills and community to be able to transform these spaces with unique and site specific artworks.The charity envisions a new world where abundant and meaningful creative opportunities are readily accessible to people with severe and enduring mental health diagnoses, and where mental health hospital environments are inventive cultural spaces offering solace, comfort and dignity. Since 2016, Hospital Rooms has undertaken a number of acclaimed projects, completed in some of the most challenging mental health settings. A roster of artists is carefully selected for each Hospital Rooms’ project according to the needs of each community.

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Please be advised that photographs will be taken at this event for use on the Hauser & Wirth website, social media and in other marketing materials.