Royal Sussex County Hospital:
a crucible for social change
Crucible tells the history of the Royal Sussex County Hospital from people’s perspectives, from its origins as a sea-bathing hospital to its life-saving research work in the 21st century. You can listen to the authentic voices and stories of hospital staff and past patients here, or go for a walk alongside some of them in the corridor between the Louisa Martindale atrium and the Grade 2 listed Chapel that was transferred from the 1828 Barry Building.
Crucible brings the stories, history and legacy of the Royal Sussex County Hospital to life, based on records of its buildings and communities since 1828. Interactive art collective the Nimbus Group worked with artist Daniel Locke, Nicola Benge of Strike A Light – Arts & Heritage and creative digital agency Surface Impression to gather oral histories, research archival documents, photographs and historic artwork and create new artwork for the Louisa Martindale building. Together, these explore the many strands that make up the hospital’s history and invite you to take part.
Crucible recounts stories of the Great Storm in 1987 and the Brighton Bombing in 1984 to advances in medical technology such as improvements in treatment of HIV, cancer and eye surgery. It is these memories of the Royal Sussex County Hospital and its effect on the lives, families and communities of staff and patients that make it a place of change, healing and development.
Crucible also draws on findings from a National Lottery Heritage Fund project, the Royal Sussex County Hospital: A People’s History from the 19th Century to the 21st Century about the social heritage of the hospital leading up to the new development, and a symposium and exhibition based on our research that we organised at Jubilee Library, Brighton in September 2019.
Crucible has been produced by Nimbus, with project management support from Willis Newson. It has been commissioned by Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust with additional support from Arts Council England and National Lottery Heritage Fund. Crucible is part of Connect, the public art programme for the redevelopment of the Royal Sussex County Hospital.
For further information: www.the-nimbus-group.com
To contact us: info@thisiswyld.com
