Celebrating Ten Years of Creativity in Care
Detail of wall decal in a hospital corridor. Artwork by Claire Pendrigh and patients. Photo: Natasha Mulhall
This year marks a decade since Inscape Tasmania first stepped into the Royal Hobart Hospital with one artist on one ward, with a simple idea: to transform the experience of care by bringing professional artists and musicians into hospital wards and corridors.
Over the past ten years, Inscape’s team has delivered thousands of hours of live music at the bedside, guided patients and families through calming art sessions, and created hundreds of Life-Scape illustrations gifted to patients to take home. Weekly performances, artist residencies, creative workshops for staff, and collaborative displays have turned hospital spaces, from wards to staff rooms, into places of warmth, colour and connection.
“…it’s like I can feel the harp music inside my heart. It’s like it’s tickling me and making me smile. I hadn’t smiled for days,”
None of this would have been possible without the trust and support of Royal Hobart Hospital staff. Their encouragement has allowed Inscape’s programs to adapt to the real needs of patients and families, and to grow in ways that make a difference for everyone in the hospital environment.
As lead musician Will Parsell says:
“Every time I visit a patient or ward, I’m reminded just how instantly therapeutic art and music can be. It reconnects people with what’s meaningful in their lives, while also enlivening clinical spaces with familiar sounds and colour.”
Inscape’s artists are backed by training, mentoring and ongoing evaluation, and today, a team of eleven professional Tasmanian artists and musicians work alongside hospital staff to bring creativity into care and visit most wards at the Royal Hobart Hospital. We have expanded to include programs and residencies in outpatient rehabilitation, the Roy Fagan Centre, and New Norfolk district hospital and see over 1000 patients each year.
Executive Officer Leigh Tesch says:
“Our work shows that creativity belongs in healthcare - not as an add-on, but as a meaningful part of how we care for people. The past ten years have proved what’s possible when artists, health staff and the community come together to imagine something better.”
As a charity, Inscape relies on donations and personal philanthropy to keep this work alive, but the daily partnerships with the Tasmanian Health Services staff on the wards, in clinics and in corridors are just as vital. Together, we’ve shown that art and music can enliven the clinical environment, lift spirits, and offer moments of calm when they’re needed most.
You are invited
To mark this milestone, we warmly invite staff from the Royal Hobart Hospital, Tasmanian Health Service and Inscape supporters to join us for our Ten Year Celebration at the Henry Jones Art Hotel on Thursday 24 July 2025.
Meet the artists, enjoy live music and conversation, find your next artwork in our silent auction, and help us raise funds to keep creativity at the heart of care for the next ten years and beyond.
Thank you for standing beside us over the past decade, and for every kind word, shared space and open door that has made creativity in care possible.
None of this would have been possible without the generous support of Inscape Tas donors, philanthropists and current partners, including the Royal Hobart Hospital and its Donation Fund, The Henry Jones Art Hotel, the Older Persons Mental Health Reform Project, the Community Rehabilitation Unit and the New Norfolk District Hospital Auxiliary.
Learn more about our art and music programs.
