Anne Harild at St Mary's Hospital

In 2012, Anne Harild was Artist-in-residence at the Paediatric Haematology, in QEQM building of St Mary’s Hospital in London. Patients who suffered from leukaemia, sickle cell and different cancers were encouraged to create simple animations whilst being in stationary treatment. Often we worked at the bedside of the children and provided a welcome distraction from their isolation as well as giving them the opportunity to participate in an art project that raised their self-esteem and confidence. Whilst Anne brought a laptop and materials, showing her participants how to produce cartoons, I dealt with the infection control and evaluation of the each child. For Anne and myself it was one of the most rewarding projects we have ever delivered – heart-breaking at times – but the bravery and attitude of the children towards their illness was inspirational. I-Pads were given to the children and blog was started allowing them to share their artwork with their families, friends and wider public. An animation and ten film stills from Anne Harild’s residency at St. Mary's has was been shown on the 10th floor of the QEQM building, St Mary’s. The work was on display at St Mary’s Hospital for one year and then toured to other hospitals in the UK as part of Paintings in Hospitals collection. The project was organised in partnership with Paintings in Hospitals with funding from Outset. Image: Artwork of a young patient.