Since late 2016, artist Lucy Steggals has been in residence at Royal Papworth Hospital as part of their Artist in Residence programme led by Wysing Arts Centre. She is working on a project called Florulary, a series of seasonal experiments working with staff, patients, visitors, artists and experts to find playful formulae to re insert the floral into the hospital environment. 

She re-imagines the future of flowers to create something that can replace organic flowers (which are no longer allowed on wards) but which still carry some of the feeling and sentiment of the gift of flowers.

In her initial research into the Papworth archives, she has uncovered a rich legacy of floral images and materials relating to Papworth’s floral past and the flower festival that took place until the 1970s.

Lucy undertook a series of floral interventions across the site, as well as with the Cystic Fibrosis ward. She has created a series of photographs for a publication disseminated to the Hospital staff at the new location in Sept 2018. 

To follow the project, visit her website, Twitter: @saturdaymuseum or Facebook: The Saturday Museum. 

Florulary was part of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus Expansion Land Public Art Programme, curated by Futurecity on behalf of Liberty Property Trust and Countryside. The Artist in Residence strand for Royal Papworth Hospital was delivered by Wysing Arts Centre as part of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus Public Art Strategy led by Futurecity on behalf of Cambridge Medipark Limited.

Florulary 
6 June - 4 July 2018
Imperial College, London

An exhibition of photographs from the Florulary project can be seen on display this summer at Imperial College, London. 

Full details of where to view them can be found here.