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Bethnal Green Hospital Campaign 1977-78  

The seventies in Britain saw the first wave of cutbacks in the National Health Service, carried out initially by the Tories, then continued throug h the 1974 Labour government. As part of this policy, many small hospitals were closed. The Bethnal Green Hospital in East London served the local population as a community hospital valued for its continuity of care and accessibility to local residents. It was still working to capacity and its patients would have nowhere to go if its facilities were withdrawn, except to extend already over-long waiting lists. In 1977, following orders for closure, its staff decided to 'occupy' the hospital while a campaign was mounted to safeguard its future. The only people to move out of the hospital were therefore the administrators. Doctors, nurses and other staff continued to perform their duties, GP's continued to refer patients, locals continued to attend the casualty department and ambulance drivers continued to respond to emergency calls. While patients remained at the hospital, the health authority had a duty to pay staff salaries - and so the occupation took effect.

Artists Loraine Leeson and Peter Dunn had recently taken up a Greater London Arts fellowship in the area, with a remit to set up and run film and video workshops. Dan Jones, local social worker, artist and member of the Bethnal Green Hospital campaign committee, approached them with the offer of the hospital as a 'workshop location', hoping for a resulting video production that could be used by the campaign. This provided the kind of opportunity the artists had been looking for that would allow them to use their practice in a way that could support issues of relevance to local people. The experience provided some valuable lessons.  

Initially Loraine and Peter attempted to produce a campaign video through the workshops. It soon became apparent however that process and product were at odds. In the workshop activities non-specialists needed to adopt their own learning curves. However the campaign video had to be both rapidly produced and effective. To achieve this function, it also had to work aesthetically. The artists soon found themselves editing out camera shake and other results of inexpert involvement. They felt torn between providing positive learning experiences for workshop members, and the result that was needed. Eventually a reasonable outcome was produced in the form of the 'Emergency' documentary. However the artists also resolved to find a better working process.

When campaigning posters were requested, the artists worked directly with members of the campaign committee, and this collaborative approach proved much more satisfactory. During the months of making the video, the artists had become increasingly involved in the campaign itself, and had taken the role of photographically documenting events. When it became apparent that there was a need for a more in depth explanation of the issues for people entering the hospital, there was therefore a wealth of material on which to draw. An exhibition was devised to place the specific campaign within its wider social and political context, and to communicate this complex information in an accessible way. It was through this work that the artists' use of photomontage as an artistic and political tool first came into being.

While the exhibition fulfilled its purpose in the hospital, another function emerged. Art critic Richard Cork had at the time been asked to curate an exhibition for the Serpentine Gallery in London. Entitled ' Art for Whom ?'. It was to reflect a growing interest in the potential 'audience' for art beyond the gallery going public. Other artists exhibiting included Conrad Atkinson, Islington Schools Environmental Project, Public Art Workshop and Stephen Willats, who between them demonstrated that art was indeed a medium that could deal effectively with issues affecting the lives of ordinary people.