bethlem gallery
Beckenham
Bethlem Gallery is a visual arts organisation in south-east London. We programme
creative activities, projects and commissions to participate in, look at, talk
and think about. Based at Bethlem Royal Hospital, Beckenham, and working across
South London and the UK, we support the professional development and socially
engaged practice of our artists, many of whom have experienced mental health
services. We bridge communities, aiming to make art an everyday practice and
mental health an everyday conversation. Our programme includes collaborations
with other cultural and health organisations including Bethlem Museum of the
Mind, with whom we share a building, artists-in-residence, and interdisciplinary
research. We engage audiences in learning and debate on the subject of mental
health and artistic practice. We are a charity founded in 1997. As well as
working in our gallery and studio space at Bethlem Royal Hospital, we programme
exhibitions at the Long Gallery at Maudsley Hospital and the ORTUS conferencing
centre, and commission new public artworks. “Pills are ok, counselling is ok and
it will get you back on the streets, but what keeps your mind alive is what you
learn here. That’s what it’s about – keeping your spirit alive.” – Lee, Bethlem
artist.
