Newcastle Hospitals Charity and Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art have teamed up with renowned photographer Johannah Churchill for 2025’s edition of Newcastle Hospitals Charity’s NHS Darkroom.

NHS Darkroom was launched in 2023 as part of Newcastle Hospitals Charity’s Arts Programme which aims to enhance the wellbeing and recovery of patients and staff across Newcastle Hospitals. The programme supports a range of projects across all mediums, helping to engage patients and communities in the work of the hospitals and support the mental health and wellbeing of NHS staff.

NHS Darkroom is an ongoing project with Sunderland-based photographer, lecturer and former nurse Johannah Churchill, supported by University of Sunderland, where staff from Newcastle Hospitals are invited to develop their skills and experience in photography.

For this iteration, inspired by the exhibition ‘Come As You Really Are’ in Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art Main Gallery, Newcastle Hospitals staff have been invited to share their own hobbies, crafts or collections which bring them joy, keep them well and provide a creative outlet. Staff will sit for a professional portrait taken by Johannah and take part in a photography workshop to develop their own photographs of their hobbies, crafts and collections which will be displayed across NGCA Collection Space and Newcastle Hospital sites.

Jon Weston, Curator at Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, said: ‘We are delighted to partner with Newcastle Hospitals Charity on their innovative NHS Darkroom project in Summer 2025. We have seen the positive impact the previous projects have had on NHS staff at Newcastle Hospitals and are delighted to offer a public space to share the brilliant and insightful photography produced. NHS Darkroom at Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art will draw on the exhibition ‘Come As You Really Are’ in the Main Gallery, celebrating the vibrancy and importance of the hobbies and creative activities the staff undertake in their free time. Johannah Churchill is the perfect person to steer the project drawing on her skill and care as a photographer as well as her previous experience working as an NHS nurse.

Katie Newell, Head of Arts Programme at Newcastle Hospitals Charity said ‘We are delighted to partner with Northern Gallery for Contemporary this year as part of our ongoing NHS Darkroom project, with renowned photographer, Johannah Churchill. Johannah previously trained as a nurse at Freeman Hospital, and this experience and the relationship she still has with healthcare professionals, is evident in the quality of her photography. The portraits bring visibility to NHS staff, as themselves, not solely as healthcare professionals. We’re excited to align NHS Darkroom this year with Artangel and Hetain Patel’s ‘Come As You Really Are’. It gives further opportunity for staff to be visible as themselves, bringing their own creative hobbies and interests to a wider public. We are very much looking forward to discovering and sharing the creative talents Newcastle Hospitals staff.