Hello, 

welcome to the eleventh issue of the Flourishing Spaces Newsletter~ a small offering to pause as we approach spring.

Firstly, we would like to thank you for signing up to receive this gentle thread. We aim to connect a growing community committed to re-humanising medicine and education through creativity, reflection, and care.

This isn’t about adding more noise to your inbox but some encouragement, a signpost to something meaningful, and a glimpse into what’s unfolding in our shared landscape.

All previous newsletters can be read here (scroll to the bottom of the page).

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NEWS FROM THE FIELD

25th of February: The Barts Arts Exhibition

A beautiful evening in the Old Library of the Garrod Building took place this week; the Barts Arts exhibition with the theme ‘What does inclusion in healthcare look like to you?’. It was attended by healthcare workers, patients, members of the public, students and staff from the QMUL Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. 

The exhibition showcased a wide range of artistic mediums, alongside creative enquiry spaces that invited attendees to reflect and contribute. The atmosphere was vibrant and welcoming, creating a shared space that encouraged connection and dialogue.

The fifth FMD Art Exhibition (in collaboration with ACE, CBME, Flourishing Spaces, CCSU, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry EDI Strategy Group) was a great success, and we thank you all for joining us. 

Please enjoy the photographs from the evening, a visual gallery of the palpable flourishing space.

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RCGP Creative SIG Calendar of creative events

We are featuring the link to this calendar again, as it malfunctioned in the last newsletter:

Flourishing grows out of moments and connections, seeds planted when people come together. How can we gather more often in spaces that encourage creativity and connection? At a recent study day held by the RCGP Special Interest Group for Creative Health, we realised our group holds a wealth of knowledge about creative health events and active creative communities. We decided to create a Creative Health Events Calendar that can be synced to our own personal calendars, allowing us to hear about and book onto events more easily.  Anyone can submit an event for approval and anyone can access the calendar to view approved events. Why not link it to your own calendar?

Join an event and discover a place of belonging for arts and health. You will recognise some events previously advertised in these newsletters, for example the Creative Clinic online meetings.

UPCOMING EVENTS

“ Despite my self-reassurance over me ‘just being a first year’, at times I feel as if I should know more, be able to provide a greater insight and reassurance, and this is only amplified by being called a doctor already by some, despite my current inadequacies. My developing identity has all of these overlaps due to different people's perspectives, and I’ve tried to convey this in my mixed-media piece through the stitched-together lab coat and hoodie. My future is reflected in the NHS name tag on the lab coat, imparting how some may already perceive me as a medical professional because I’m in medical school, and may expect me to know more than is feasible currently. My present self is expressed through the hoodie that is interlocked with the lab coat while clutching a ‘get well soon’ card, representing how being a carer is helping shape my professional identity, alongside my medical school experiences. Similar to the bisected pieces of clothing, at times I may feel torn as to who I want to become, how I want to be perceived by whom and how I’m going to get there; but by observing all of these medical professionals in multi-disciplinary teams and thinking about how they have likely had the same queries at one point or another, and faced both the same and dissimilar challenges, is reassuring and I feel has helped me shape my developing identity. ”