Established in 2019 and funded by Arts Council England and Manchester NHS Foundation Trust Charity, Lime’s hospital based Artist in Residence programme (AiR) is driven by an energetic, creative hub of artists based at the Lime Arts Studio.

AiR programme aims:

• To engage patients and NHS staff in creating high quality art that explores and generates fresh insights into current NHS priorities
• To targett “off radar” groups of those least likely to encounter high quality arts making experiences
• To build links between the hospital and the wider arts community through public exhibitions/events
• To support and mentor arts practitioners/students
• To collaborate with NHS teams/academic partners in developing models of best practice
• To provide an evidence base for participatory arts practice in healthcare settings nationally and internationally

During 2019 Lime coordinated four artist residencies at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. Artists in Residence delivered over 80 printmaking workshops and engaged over 800 staff and patients at Manchester Royal Infirmary,  St. Mary’s Hospital and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital during their 3 month residency.

Resident artists Jacqui Symons + Louise Wilde aimed to inform the wider public about the nursing profession by exploring ‘the nurses experience’ and the associated’ Emotional Labour’ and the systems and practices in place. Artist Lisa Clare was based at St Mary’s Hospital and focused on the procedure of elective caesarean and exploration of how creative interventions can aid patient experience and reduce associated stress for pregnant women and their partners/ loved ones prior to major surgery. Colette Whittington used printmaking to encourage long term hospitalised young people accessing mental health services to use the process of storytelling through print based narratives to access imagination and encourage escapism.

Each residency is carefully structured and supported by a network of healthcare professionals. Lime provides artists with specialised training and mentoring throughout their residencies and artists document their development and practice, and also meet regularly to engage in group based peer to peer review and reflective practice.

The residency programme culminated in January 2020 with a final exhibition and a pop up gallery showcasing the new collection of artworks.