Exhibiting the power of art therapy at Severn Hospice
Exhibitions
InSight – Autumn 2025
In November 2024, Severn Hospice held its first art therapy exhibition, led by art therapy service user Wendy Brookfield’s powerful work. What began as a personal form of expression grew into a public event showcasing the role of art therapy in hospice care. Art therapist Holly Dyer, who established the hospice’s art therapy service and organised the exhibition, tells us more.
Wendy’s story – finding a voice through art
Care at Severn Hospice goes far beyond our clinical services – we support the whole person, offering emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual support that helps them live as well and as independently as possible within the limitations of incurable conditions.
As an art therapist working at the hospice, I have witnessed patients not only processing their anxieties and distress about death and dying but exploring their relationship concerns, childhood experiences and much more. Seeing this emotional and therapeutic process unfold inspired me to find a way to share this positive work with others.
I had been working with one patient, Wendy, for a couple of months. She found her art therapy sessions had given her a voice, an outlet enabling her to express her difficult palliative experiences. Wendy’s bravery, her powerful images and honest reflections became the catalyst for an exhibition as she was very keen to share how art therapy has helped and supported her on her journey.
I thought an exhibition to highlight art therapy could help staff, patients and the public better understand what art therapy is and demonstrate the scope of hospice care. While the idea initially felt daunting, encouragement from colleagues gave me the confidence to propose my idea to the senior management team.
Making the exhibition a reality
After discussions with senior management and the communications and hospitality teams, it was agreed that Wendy’s art therapy images would be shown alongside work created by inpatients from the hospice wards, artwork from the various creative therapy workshops that Severn Hospice also facilitates and art by local artists.
The exhibition was a team effort, with Wendy being central to decision-making. She decided which of her images were going to be displayed and wrote insightful captions for each image, explaining her thoughts and emotions.
We considered how and where the images would be displayed and how they could be viewed by as many people as possible. Our communications team designed invitations, promoted the event and secured local media interest. Our hospitality team organised the space, canapés and drinks. My focus remained on supporting Wendy and presenting her artwork.
Wendy’s artwork – honesty and strength
Wendy’s most powerful pieces were simple, single colour, red pencil drawings. One, depicting images of raindrops, literally makes me feel the soreness of Wendy’s mouth ulcers and her pain in struggling to swallow and talk.
Of the drawing, Wendy says:
The side-effects of the chemo I and everyone experiences can be individual and wide-ranging. For me, I’ve had severe multiple mouth sores. This week I was struggling to swallow, talk, eat or drink. Pain levels were extreme. Finding a way to put it down on paper didn’t solve the problem but it did help me to reflect on and demonstrate the pain through drawing.
The other, of tree roots, shows the stoicism needed to sit through a chemo session, with the chemo – literally poison – coursing through Wendy’s body. The artwork caption read:
Sitting and drawing whilst in the unit for chemo, the tree formed organically but really reflected the strong poisons that I need to attack the cancer, as the roots reach out to find their route through to make sure the tree stays strong.
The images are shocking, honest and stark. There is no peace or glamour here, just passive endurance, bravery and strength.
I hoped the exhibition would help visitors to understand Wendy’s emotional journey and gain insight into how she felt. I also hoped that visitors would gain a better understanding of the role of art therapy in hospice care and how beneficial it can be.
The response and lasting legacy
The exhibition was held in the hospice community building in Shrewsbury, run as a ticketed event for one evening in November, with Wendy’s artwork remaining on display for two weeks after the event.
The exhibition was so successful that it will become an annual event, celebrating art therapy and the creative interventions that Severn Hospice provides.
The local press, including the Shropshire Star and Shropshire Live, ran articles in the days leading up to the exhibition. On the night, BBC Midlands Today filmed the event, and Wendy bravely agreed to be interviewed.
In a deeply emotional moment, Wendy’s daughter and best friend surprised Wendy by attending.
Visitors were deeply touched by Wendy’s work and many wanted to speak to her, thank her and wish her well. The comments book we opened on the night of the exhibition is filled with messages of empathy and understanding of Wendy’s images and experiences.
People shared how the exhibition gave them a better perception of what art therapy is and the benefits that it may bring. Visitors thanked Wendy for her bravery in sharing her journey. One particularly poignant message came from a visitor saying that, after viewing Wendy’s work, they felt more able to understand and support their relative who was receiving palliative care.
Wendy’s images offered compassion, insight and an understanding of what it is like to receive a palliative diagnosis, manage gruelling chemo treatments and deal with everyday life. Her images tell a powerful and profound story, depicting the despair, frustration, anxiety – and hope – that are all part of living with a life-limiting illness.
Journeys Through Art 2025
Severn Hospice is holding its second Journeys Through Art exhibition on 10 November 2025, 7-9pm. You can find out more about the exhibition on its website, or contact Donna at donnaG@severnhospice.org.uk or call 01743 236565.
Art therapy in hospices
