Hospital Rooms, the pioneering arts and mental health charity, is delighted to announce an exclusive collaboration with renowned Nigerian artist Nengi Omuku and her charity, The Art of Healing (TAOH). Together, they unveil Swing Low (2024), a special limited-edition fundraising artwork, with proceeds supporting groundbreaking arts and mental health projects in the UK and Nigeria. Known for her evocative paintings on Sanyan—traditional Nigerian silk— Omuku’s work explores themes of identity, healing, and the natural world. Her work resonates deeply with Hospital Rooms’ mission to bring imagination, comfort and compassion into clinical spaces.
Hospital Rooms, founded by Niamh White and Tim A Shaw, aims to change the often stark and impersonal settings of mental health wards into spaces that promote creativity, healing, and recovery. Since its inception, the charity has worked with leading contemporary artists within NHS mental health hospitals commissioning ambitious and transformative artworks for these site.
Courtesy of the artist, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London, and Kasmin, New York. Photo by Todd White Art Photography.
Omuku and Hospital Rooms have enjoyed a longstanding collaboration, with Omuku contributing to numerous projects over the years. Most recently, she completed an installation at a new hospital site in Norwich inspired by hot air balloons—symbolising freedom and lightness. This piece was showcased during Hospital Rooms’ 2024 summer exhibition at Hauser & Wirth, where a floor awash in surreal pastel brushstrokes mimicked a colourful sky dotted with beanbag ‘balloons,’ offering visitors a place to relax, join a workshop, or simply take in the artwork. In 2018, she was commissioned by Hospital Rooms to paint a mural in a psychiatric intensive care ward for women in London. This project, supported by Arts Council England, ignited her passion to create a transformative initiative that could uplift mental health services in Nigeria. Inspired by her work with Hospital Rooms in the UK, Omuku established her own arts organisation in Nigeria, named Ona Iwosan (The Art of Healing). TAOH’s first mural project, launched at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, is set to be completed this year, marking a significant step in bringing contemporary art into mental health care across Africa.
Hospital Rooms and TAOH make up two of the four research partners in the Jameel Arts & Health Lab’s Hospital Murals Evaluation (HoME) project – the largest study of its kind, aiming to better understand the impact of murals in hospitals on patients, staff, and visitors. In the first study of its kind, the Hospital Murals Evaluation (HoME) seeks to advance a robust understanding of the impact that murals in hospitals and other clinical settings can have on people who view these large visual artworks. The limited-edition Swing Low (2024) offers collectors a rare chance to own Omuku’s work while supporting vital initiatives. Each piece will be beautifully packaged in eco-friendly, bespoke cotton bags and card boxes.
This edition represents more than just a fundraiser; it is a celebration of the shared vision of two organisations committed to transforming mental health spaces through art. The funds will enable Hospital Rooms to continue its vital work in the UK and support The Art of Healing’s projects in Nigeria, ensuring that art remains a pathway to healing and recovery for all on an international scale.
Available from: Tuesday 17 December, from 10am
For further information and images please contact:
Roisin Mennell at Hospital Rooms: roisin@hospital-rooms.com
