Making Room

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Making Room is a studio space for people living with mental illness in both clinical and community settings.

The project, led by Artist Nicole Morris, commenced in March 2024 and explores art practice as a critical service in mental health support. Working in partnership with Southwark Directorate Occupational Therapy Staff, the project is currently based on the acute and psychiatric intensive care wards for women at Maudsley Hospital as well as within the community, and is supported by Asha Fontenelle and Daphne Greca.

Sessions invite service users to try out new activities and use different mediums in a non- judgmental, safe space. Being together and making alongside and in collaboration, through drawing, poetry, paint, textiles, clay, print and collage, in a space that nurtures collective joy. In each session we share work made and celebrate achievements with a drink and snack together. Outcomes have been displayed throughout the wards, Making Room in an institutional space for a studio to exist.

 

On the Wards

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In the Community

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Making Connections

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Reflecting as we go

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Nicole Morris is an artist whose practice spans textiles, film and creative writing. Her work moves between exhibitions, healthcare and community contexts, exploring how making can become a space for reflection, repair and connection. Recent projects include: From The Morning Light, Great Ormond Street Hospital (2025-6); Today I… Home-Start and Foundling Museum (2025-6); Navigating My Sea, Her Centre, Solace, Bromley & Croydon Women’s Aid and RMG (2020-2026); Resist, Coborn Centre for Adolescent Mental Health (2024); Filling Gaps, Mind in Camden (2024); Making in Isolation, together, [ SPACE ] commissions, London (2020) Supersmashers, South London Gallery (2018-19). Recent exhibitions include: Lost Mothers, Asociación Alcultura, Algeciras (2024), Drawing Biennial, Drawing Room, London (2024, 2021), Discoveries V, Fiumano Clase, London (2024); Dear World, Wellcome Centre for Neuroimaging commission, UCL, London (2020); Survey, G39, Cardiff; Bluecoat, Liverpool; Baltic, Gateshead and Jerwood, London (2018-19).

nicolemorris.co.uk

 

Thank you to all involved so far:

  • Nicole Morris, Artist
  • Asha Fontenelle, Artist
  • Daphne Greca, Kings College Hospital Volunteer
  • Carole Hardy, Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist and Southwark, Addictions & Central Services Operational Directorate
  • Sara Holt, Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist- Southwark Community
  • Service Users & Staff, Lucas Ward, Maudsley Hospital
  • Holly Ross, Occupational Therapist
  • Leila Seeley, Activity Coordinator
  • Service Users & Staff, Jim Birley Unit, Maudsley Hospital
  • Rhiannon Eastwood, Occupational Therapist
  • Lydie Umarirungo, Occupational Therapist
  • Service Users & Staff, Ruskin Ward, Maudsley Hospital
  • Jillian Slee, Occupational Therapist
  • Hannah McKim, Occupational Therapist
  • Service Users & Staff, Eilleen Skellern 1 Ward, Maudsley Hospital
  • Rob Rathouse, Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist
  • Service Users & Staff, Southwark Community
  • Emma Peacock, Occupational Therapist
  • Ricardo de Castro, Occupational Therapist Student
  • Service Users & Staff, Leo Ward, Lambeth Hospital
  • Deirdre McGale, Apprentice Occupational Therapist
  • Tannia Culqui Calderon, Senior Occupational Therapist
  • Mary Doyle, Co-Director, Drawing Room
  • Betsy Dadd, Learning Curator, Drawing Room
  • Will Nichols, Workshop Assistant, Drawing Room
  • Srikanth Jeyaparam, Workshop Assistant, Drawing Room
  • Genevieve Miller, Learning Coordinator, Drawing Room

Generously supported by Warburg Pincus and Chandrika Baji Pathak

Scrapbook

I just want the joy to continue
Service User, Leo Ward, Lambeth Hospital
It’s much more beautiful than I remembered
Service User, Lucas Ward
This collaboration has offered our clients a transformative space for creative exploration, personal growth, and recovery… Making Room has made art accessible to individuals who may never have had the means or opportunity to explore it. The impact on our clients’ recovery journeys has been profound — enabling them to reconnect with meaning, purpose, and community.
Lead Occupational Therapist, Maudsley Hospital
So much has happened in such a short period, we have gone from 0-60 in days.
Occupational Therapist, Leo Ward, Lambeth Hospital
There is no pressure here. It feels safe
Service User, Southwark Maudsley Community
I got to show my sister my work on the wall, she was really proud of me.
Service User, Ruskin ward, Maudsley Hospital
I want to journal forever.
Service User, Leo Ward, Lambeth Hospital
I enjoyed spending time in the company of others outside my home.
Service User, Southwark Maudsley Community
This is the first group they have ever attended all the way through
Occupational Therapist, Southwark Community
The sessions have supported service users to create artworks through which they have been able to express their creativity and articulate things that are of importance to them… you have created a sense of community within the sessions where service users can celebrate and support one another despite often not choosing to be in hospital or together as such.’
Lead Occupational Therapist, Maudsley Hospital
I’ve put my collage up beside my bed and I love waking up every morning to look at it.
Service User, Lucas Ward, Maudsley Hospital
I’m happy even though it’s imperfect
Service User, Jim Birley Unit
Doing things together makes me stronger.
Service User, Jim Birley Unit
I’ve been drawing at home ever since this group. Thank you for providing a safe space’
Service User, Southwark Maudsley Community
In this room, I have witnessed much laughter and a little sadness, that is understandable given the difficult circumstances so many of our service users have found themselves in.
Lead Occupational Therapist, Maudsley Hospital
I’m happy this reminded me of that memory in my childhood walking barefoot in the garden
Service User, Ruskin Ward
You helped me build confidence in this room. The words you used made me feel stronger
Service User, Ruskin Ward
‘I’ve been looking forward to this all week’
Service User, Eilleen Skellern 1 Ward
Supporting staff, whether they be OTs or members of the nursing team, have also been encouraged to participate, thus, breaking down the barriers between patients and staff, that are well known to exist, often to the detriment of service users, in institutions such as ours, where power imbalances are enshrined.
Lead Occupational Therapist, Maudsley Hospital
You’ve encouraged and nurtured everyone to be more independent and flourish
Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist, Southwark Community
Making Room delivers an integrated mental health service that bridges inpatient and community care, addressing a critical gap in recovery pathways.  Creative, relational support is embedded on the ward during periods of acute need and continues seamlessly post‑discharge into the community, ensuring continuity of care. This dual‑setting approach supports identity rebuilding, nurtures individuality and creative expression, and enables people to develop social, emotional, and practical skills through connection with others. The model promotes sustained engagement, reduces fragmentation between services, and supports durable mental health recovery.
Lead Occupational Therapist, Community Services, Maudsley
This might be a new hobby for me
Service User, Southwark Maudsley Community
This group is an intrinsic part of my recovery. It is a safe space where I can be creative in many artistic ways, in various mediums and learn new skills. It’s a space where I can use my imagination and express myself creatively, helping and building my self confidence and self esteem.
Occupational Therapist, Community Services, Maudsley