Launch of art project for palliative care patients in Kildare hospital

Kildare County Council’s Art Service is pleased to announce the launch of a custom fabricated mobile printing press, designed by Kildare artist John Conway, specifically for palliative care patients at Naas General Hospital (NGH).

The launch event, held on November 6, marks a significant milestone in Conway’s year-long Artist in Residence programme, a partnership between Creative Ireland, Kildare County Council Arts Service and Naas General Hospital.

Thanks to additional funding from Kildare County Council Arts Service and Creative Ireland Kildare, the project has now been extended through 2026.

Following months of artistic research and collaboration with hospital staff, the mobile printing press was specifically designed to facilitate bedside printmaking, allowing palliative care patients to engage in meaningful creative work directly from their beds.

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Using a combination of prefabricated printing blocks and a custom fabricated mobile printing press, patients are invited to create works reflecting their experience of care, personal reflections and messages to loved ones.

These prints will contribute to a larger collective art project, which John is currently developing, with some patients choosing to gift their individual prints to relatives and friends.

Artist John Conway explained: “I’ve been lucky to work with such a brilliant team of healthcare staff over the last number of months – people who are dedicated to the project, and positive experiences for patients, and who have faith in a slow process of art-making—of listening and thinking before doing. We’re starting to reap the benefits of that now.

“It’s a real privilege and a massive responsibility to be invited into a space where someone is at the end of their life. It’s such a sensitive space. For me, it’s important to figure out a resolved and caring way of inviting people into an artistic process in such final circumstances”.

Eláine Donnelly, Acting Arts Officer, Kildare County Council, commented: “We are delighted to re-ignite a longstanding relationship with Naas General Hospital and grow our commitment to resourcing Arts & Health initiatives in the county.

“It has been thrilling to watch the development of links and creative connections with staff and the wider hospital environment in recent months. This project is a very real opportunity to embed an Artist in Residence at Naas General Hospital, resource the development of high-quality creative responses in this area and support a shift in culture and change of perception of what is an ‘Artist in Residence’ in acute hospital settings”.

Key partners to establishing the residency include the Hospital Management Team, Mr Equare, Clinical Director, Kieran McDonald, General Hospital Manager and Anne Murphy, Director of Nursing, Lisa White, End of Life Care Coordinator, Linda Rogers, Palliative Care Advanced Nurse Practitioner and Bernadette Jackson, Senior Medical Scientist.

The initiative forms part of the “Did I Ever Tell You…” Artist in Residence programme, funded by Creative Ireland and supported by the Kildare County Council Arts Service.

John Conway is a visual artist working at the forefront of arts and health for over a decade. He is currently a three-year studio resident at Temple Bar Gallery + Studios in Dublin.

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